When You're Lost Here I Am
by NeverTooLate123
Summary: Kid and his friends go on a camping trip and things take a sinister turn when Kid goes missing. With a figure from Kid's past responsible for his disappearance will Kid's friends be able to find him before tragedy strikes? Kid x Maka Third in the "Of Sound Mind" series. Now Complete.
1. Chapter 1:The Prey Meets The Predator

A/N: So this is a multi-chapter sequel to my story "Of Sound Mind". You should read that first and the one-shot sequel "The Sleepover" so that you can understand what's happening in this story. I hope that you enjoy the story. As always I appreciate any feedback.

Trigger Warnings (these are for the whole story): The antagonist in this story is basically a pedophile so there will be elements dealing with that throughout, there will be a later scene with discrimination against people with mental illness. Please, if you are sensitive to any of these subjects this probably is not the story for you. I'm still in the process of writing this story so if there are more trigger warnings later I will post them in the chapter they appear in.

Chapter 1: The Prey Meets The Predator

Kid sat next to Maka at a round table with a white tablecloth. They were both dressed up. Kid wore one of his nicest suits and Maka wore a red dress with ribbons in her hair. They were at an awards ceremony for Kid's dad's work. It was being hosted in the banquet hall of a hotel.

As soon as his dad had told him it would be appropriate to bring a date Kid called Maka and asked her to accompany him. She had seemed excited but nervous, yet here she was seemingly completely in her element.

The ceremony was over and dinner was being served. Maka's chair somehow kept getting closer to his. He wasn't really sure when that had happened, but Maka took advantage of it and reached over to squeeze his knee. Kid was shocked by her boldness. He jumped and his cheeks turned bright red as he attempted to chat with the other guests at their table. Maka pulled her hand back when she realized she had startled him. She looked apologetic but an amused smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

"Are you feeling alright?" Mrs. Keller asked Kid in concern. "You look a little overheated."

"Yes, it is a bit warm in here. I think I should go get some air." Kid excused himself and as he got up from the table he could hear Maka quietly giggle.

Kid went to the restroom and splashed some water on his face. He glanced in the mirror only long enough to check that the redness had faded from his face. The three white lines on only one side of his hair still unnerved him too much to look in the mirror for long.

Kid shook his head to himself as he thought about how Maka surprised him sometimes. He liked that she was unpredictable but at the same time it could be infuriating. But even with all of her imperfections he couldn't help but think that those somehow made her so perfect. There were times when he couldn't believe that she was really his girlfriend.

When Kid was certain that his face had gone back to it's normal coloring he exited the restroom and headed back to the banquet hall. As he reached the doors he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Kid." He turned around to find one of his father's employees Noah Eibon.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Eibon," Kid greeted. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you?"

"Please, how many times do I have to tell you, call me Noah."

"Sorry, Noah," Kid corrected himself.

"I'm doing well. How are you? I heard that you went through a rough patch not that long ago."

Kid shifted uncomfortably. They were approaching a sensitive topic that he did not wish to discuss. He knew that his OCD was not something he should be ashamed of but he was still embarrassed that he had once let it control his life so completely. "I am doing much better," He replied stiffly. Noah took a step closer and Kid in turn tried to step back, the older man was starting to invade his personal space, but he stumbled back against the doors to the banquet hall.

Noah spoke in a low voice. "I was disappointed when I heard that your dad had put you into his mental hospital. No, 'disappointed' isn't the right word I was furious. You deserve better than that, Kid. I hated that he just tossed you aside like that."

"He didn't toss me aside," Kid corrected him indignantly. "My father put me there to help me learn how to cope. I don't appreciate you talking about him like that."

Noah reached up to touch the side of Kid's face. "I'm sorry. I just- you have to understand that I care a lot about you. You're special, one of a kind."

Kid suddenly realized that the area of the hotel they were in was deserted. The kitchen had a door straight into the banquet hall so there was no hotel staff around and all the guests were inside. They were isolated. Kid's heart was beating hard in a panic. Noah was too close. He loomed over Kid like a predator that had cornered its prey.

Kid pushed away Noah's hand. "I need to go back inside," he said as calmly as possible. "My date will be wondering where I am."

"You brought a date?" he asked in an odd voice.

The door behind Kid suddenly opened causing him to stumble backward into someone else. "What are you doing here, Noah?" It was his dad's voice. His dad placed his hands on Kid's shoulders and gripped them firmly, protectively. "You were fired. I told you to stop showing up at company events."

"I was just saying hi to your son."

Kid's father ignored Noah's excuse. "If you don't leave I will have the hotel security escort you off the premises."

Noah lifted his hands in surrender. "I'm leaving." He backed up a few steps before turning and walking away.

Kid sighed in relief once Noah was out of sight. His dad stepped fully outside the banquet hall and let the door close behind him. He turned Kid to face him and gripped his shoulders once more. "Are you okay? Did he do anything?"

Kid frowned in confusion. "No. What happened? Why was he fired?"

His dad sighed. "After you… went away Noah came to me in a rage demanding to know why I had put you in the hospital. I was surprised that he even knew about it. I tried to keep your situation very quiet. He acted like I had committed some horrible crime against you. I tried to get him to calm down but he was… he was out of control. I fired him. None of that was any of his business." Kid glanced at the direction Noah had left and shivered. "I'm going to call Mickey and have him take you home."

Kid was about to protest but his stomach twisted at the thought of Noah coming back. "Yeah, I'm just going to let Maka know that I'm leaving. Can you make sure she gets home safe?"

"Of course, Kiddo."

Kid went back inside the banquet hall. The guests seated closest to the door were glancing over curiously. He ignored them and made his way over to Maka.

He leaned down to tell her in a low voice. "I'm going home early. I'm not really feeling well. If you want to stay my dad will have a car take you home."

Maka looked at him incredulously. "Don't be an idiot. I'm leaving with you. This is a date after all. People usually do these things together."

Kid nodded. He knew it would be unproductive to argue with her. After they said their goodbyes they left together.

Once they were in the car headed to Maka's house she turned to Kid. She took his hand in hers as she asked. "What happened? I heard people talking about something going on just outside the hall. Then you came back in pale as a sheet."

Kid gently pulled his hand away. "There was an incident with one of my father's former employees." He kept his expression purposely unreadable.

Maka looked a little hurt at his closed off behavior. "Kid, I may be your girlfriend now but that doesn't mean I've stopped being your friend. If something happened you can talk to me about it."

He hesitated for a moment as he looked out the window. Then he recounted his interaction with Noah. He told her about the man's odd and frightening behavior, how Noah had been fired yet still showed up at the award ceremony, and how his dad had showed up at just the right moment.. When he had finished he added. "He's always acted strange around me. I mean, he always seemed… off. I've known him since he started working for my dad when I was a child. I didn't think he would go as far as to act like this toward me."

"Some people just have issues. We of all people should know that."

Kid nodded in agreement. "I'm actually starting to look forward to the camping trip. Maybe it will take my mind off of this."

"You mean, obsessing over packing and whether the cabin will be symmetrical?"

"I think those are legitimate concerns."

They smiled at each other and Kid started to relax. Maybe he could just put the whole Noah incident out of his mind.

When they got to Maka's house Kid walked her to the door. They paused on the porch and Kid leaned in to kiss her good night. A good portion of their evening had been ruined but maybe it could still end well.

Just as their lips were about to touch the front door flew open with a bang. Kid and Maka jumped apart in surprise. "Maka, you're home early!" Spirit announced loudly.

"Mr. Albarn," Kid greeted with a nod.

"Kid, thank you for bringing her back safe and sound."

"You're welcome, sir."

The three of them stood there awkwardly until Spirit prodded. "You can go now."

"Dad!" Maka scolded.

"What? He brought you home, the date is over, isn't it?"

"No, we need to say goodbye."

"I'm not going to let him use 'saying goodbye' as an excuse for him to get his hands all over my daughter! I know how boys think. They're all perverts!"

"You're no better!" Maka argued. "And Kid has been nothing but respectful. Leave us alone for a minute, dad!"

Spirit hung his head and went back inside. Yet out of the corner of his eye Kid could see Maka's father peering through the blinds. Maka threw her father a pointed look and he disappeared. She sighed and shook her head. "He's such a hypocrite," she muttered.

"He just wants to protect you," Kid said wearily. "Most dads are like that."

"We have about thirty more seconds before he comes back out here. Do you really want to spend that time talking about our fathers?"

Kid took that as an invitation and leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was short and sweet. To Kid it was as perfect as every kiss they had shared since the first.

Once the kiss ended Maka pulled him into a hug and they held each other for a long moment. "Can we just stay like this forever?" she asked with a sigh.

"I would say yes but your dad is glaring at me through the blinds."

Maka groaned in frustration. She stepped back from the hug. "Bye, Kid. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Maka went inside and Kid could hear them arguing as he walked back to the car. He got in and slumped in his seat. "Let's go home, Mickey," he said in an exhausted voice.

"Of course, sir."

Kid closed his eyes and within moments he had fallen asleep.

 _Kid was laying on the floor of his bedroom playing with a toy train his father had given him for his fifth birthday. There was an engine on both ends. Kid had put it together that way on purpose. His dad told him that trains aren't really built like that but Kid had insisted that it needed to be symmetrical._

 _He pushed the train around on the tracks. "Choo. Choo," he mimicked the train noises in a bored voice. Kid would much rather be downstairs reading in his dad's office._

 _The bedroom door opened and Noah Eibon poked his head in. "Hi, Kid, can I come in?"_

" _Sure." Kid pushed himself up into a sitting position._

 _Noah entered and sat down crossed legged across from him on the other side of the train tracks. "That's an interesting train."_

" _I built it myself," Kid said proudly._

 _Noah smiled at him. "It's very impressive."_

" _What were you talking to my dad about?"_

" _Well, he was offering me a promotion. That means I get more responsibility and I get paid more."_

" _I know what a promotion is," Kid said with a pout. "Grownups treat me like I'm stupid but I'm not."_

" _I'm sorry. I know that you're very smart. You're special, Kid. One of a kind." Noah reached over and patted him on the head his fingers lingering as they brushed through the young boy's hair. Noah reluctantly got to his feet. "I have to go. Your dad thinks I'm in the bathroom. Don't tell him I was up here. It's a secret."_

" _I can keep a secret. I'm not an idiot."_

 _Noah chuckled. "I know."_

"We're home, sir."

Kid woke with a start. Was that an actual memory, or just a dream? His hands were shaking.

Mickey opened the car door and Kid climbed out. "Are you okay, sir?"

Kid nodded. "Yeah, I just have a headache."

When he got up to his bedroom Kid stood exactly where he had been sitting in his dream. It seemed too real to have not really happened. The train was long gone. It had been thrown away after he had broken it when he was ten. The feeling of Dream-Noah's fingers lingered in his hair. He shivered and ran his hands through his hair to erase the feeling. After a moment he did his best to pat it back into place.

"It was just a dream," he said out loud in an attempt to make himself believe it. Kid pretended like it had worked and went to start packing for the camping trip to distract himself.


	2. Chapter 2:Isolated

Chapter 2: Isolated

It was three days later that Kid sat on the bus headed to the campsite. Maka sat next to him, Liz sat in front of him, and Crona sat with Ms. Marie at the front (she was one of the chaperones). Kid was a little disappointed that Blackstar and Soul were not with them. At least the three hour trip might not be so boring with them around. But Blackstar was still in the hospital and Soul went to a different school. Even Tsubaki was in a different district.

Maka had convinced her father to transfer her to Kid's school from the one she went to before she had been committed to the hospital. Liz had never really been to a proper school. She did a little schooling online when she had moved in with her grandmother. Once she was released from the hospital she told her grandmother that she wanted to go to Kid's school so that she would at least have some familiar faces around. Ms. Marie was mostly homeschooling Crona but she had enrolled him in a couple of classes that Maka was also in to try to get him accustom to the school atmosphere.

Kid stared out the window watching the scenery go by in flashes of green and brown. They had gotten outside the city and there wasn't much of anything interesting to look at. He glanced over at Maka and saw that she was playing on her phone. He was a little jealous since he would get carsick if he tried to look at his phone. He moved to rest his head against the window when he saw a smudge of something on the glass.

"Disgusting," he muttered as he slid away from the window. He scooted away until he bumped into Maka.

She looked over at him with a smile. "Hello, there."

"This bus is disgusting," he complained.

Maka glanced around. "I've seen worse."

"And I'm bored."

"If that's your clever way of trying to get me to make out with you, it's not working."

Kid's eyes went wide. "What! No, that's not what I was trying-"

"I know. I was just teasing you," she said with a laugh. Kid closed his eyes as he slumped back in his seat. Maka continued. "But the bus ride wasn't boring for a minute there."

"Would you two stop flirting." Liz requested from the seat in front of them. "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."

"What are you talking about?" Kid said defensively. "That wasn't flirting. We were just talking."

"So you don't want to flirt with me?" Maka asked. There was an edge in her voice that made Kid unsure if she was still teasing him or if she was actually hurt.

"Think your next words through carefully," Liz advised. "You don't want to dig yourself a deeper hole."

Kid threw a quick glare at the back of Liz's head. "Of course I want to flirt with you," he told Maka as gently as he could manage without sounding patronizing. "I was just-"

Liz quickly turned around in her seat and hissed. "No, stop. That was good. Don't ruin it."

"Would you give us some privacy!" he hissed back. Once Liz turned back around in her seat he turned to Maka. "Yes, I want to flirt with you." He opened his mouth to continue but then decided to take Liz's advice and closed it again.

"Good," was all she said neutrally in reply. Then Maka pulled a book out of her backpack and she started reading.

Kid looked back out the window again trying to avoid the smudge. _God, having a girlfriend is like constantly having to avoid landmines._

Five minutes later Kid realized that Maka was actively ignoring him and he put in his headphones to listen to music. Calming, classical music floated through the earbuds to relax him. He closed his eyes and it didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep.

 _Kid was wearing his pajamas with the tiger on the front. It was past his bedtime but the thunder and lightning outside were keeping him awake. He ran across the hall to his dad's room. He had just started to slowly open the door, but stopped when he heard his dad on the phone._

" _I don't know what to do about Noah. He keeps coming over to my home for odd reasons and he's always bringing Kid presents… No. I don't think that's it. It's hard to explain. When he does talk to Kid he's very touchy feely with him… B.J., I'm not accusing him of anything… Nothing could ever happen because I have never left him alone with Kid… No, Kid hasn't said anything about him. But I'm a parent, I can tell when something isn't quite right… Being an uncle isn't really the same thing… Can you just do a background check?... His name is Noah Eibon. E-I-B-O-N… Thank you, B.J. … Talk to ya later."_

 _Kid jumped when his dad turned around and spotted him. "Kiddo, what's up? Why are you out of bed?"_

" _The thunder kept me up. I can't sleep." Kid had mostly forgotten about the thunder. Why was his dad telling Mr. B.J. to investigate Mr. Eibon? Mr. Eibon was always so nice to him, bringing him presents and talking to him like he was a grownup._

 _His dad swept him up in his arms and sat down in the overstuffed arm chair by the window. "It's okay. Just focus on the sound of the rain not the thunder."_

" _Is Mr. Eibon in trouble? Are you going to fire him?"_

 _His dad's grip on him tightened slightly. "No, Kiddo. He's not in trouble. I just want to know a little more about him."_

" _Oh, okay." The thunder boomed suddenly, rattling the windows. Kid buried his face in his father's shoulder._

Someone was shaking him. "Kid, wake up. We're here." He woke up at the sound of Maka's voice. He realized that he had been resting his head on her shoulder.

"Sorry," he said as he sat up.

"That's okay," she replied with a shy smile.

Everyone had started getting off the bus. Kid grabbed his backup and they started to file with the other students toward the front of the vehicle.

Maka slipped her hand into his. "Are you okay? You were talking in your sleep. I heard you say something about Noah." There was deep concern in her voice and Kid felt a little guilty for making her worry.

"I think I'm okay. I don't even really remember my dream now."

"Well, that's good, I guess."

Once off the bus they were still holding hands. They stood with Liz and Crona waiting to find out what cabin they would be staying in.

Liz glanced down at their hands with a smirk. "Looks like you two made up."

"You were fighting?" Crona asked.

Maka shook her head quickly. "No, not really."

"Oh. Okay. I don't think I could handle it if you two broke up."

Kid looked at Crona, a bit bewildered. "You're that invested in our relationship?"

"I just want Maka to be happy and I think she's really happy with you."

Kid and Maka were both speechless for a moment. Then Maka let go of Kid's hand so that she could hug Crona. Liz and Kid looked on with smiles on their faces.

The nice moment was cut short by the sound of Ms. Marie's raised voice. "What are you saying?" she demanded of the teacher in charge of the trip Mrs. Masters.

"I'm saying that there is not enough room for everyone in these cabins so I would like you to take your son, Ms. Albarn, Ms. Thompson, and Mr. Grimm to this campsite" Mrs. Masters pointed to a spot on a map she was holding.

"It looks to me that there is more than enough room here, and that campsite is miles away."

Mrs. Masters smiled like she was a cat who had just cornered a mouse. "If you don't like it then maybe you can take them home."

"Why are you being like this?"

"Those… children are nothing but trouble. They were in a mental hospital. Who knows what they might do! What if they were to hurt one of the other students?"

"I am a licensed psychiatrist. I have treated each of them in the past. All of those kids are stable and have never been violent."

Kid winced a bit at the half lie as he thought back to the incident that got him admitted to the hospital in the first place. He kept his mouth shut. He wasn't about to correct Ms. Marie and undermine her.

Mrs. Masters shook her head. "No, no, the best course of action is that they are either kept away from the other students or sent home."

Ms. Marie looked like she was either going to cry or slap the woman. "That is discrimination!"

"What seems to be the problem?" Kid turned at the sound of a familiar voice. B.J. stood there frowning at Mrs. Masters. He was surprised to see the private detective his father employed. Why was B.J. on his class camping trip?

"B.J.?" Ms. Marie said in a confused voice. She seemed to know him too. "What are you doing here?"

"My nephew was late to school and missed the bus for the camping trip. The vice principle said I could drive him up here myself. What's going on?"

"There's not enough room in these cabins for all the kids," Mrs. Masters explained quickly. "Luckily, we rented some extra cabins that are just up a few miles. One of the buses can take the other kids there." She gestured in the direction of the buses before scurrying off.

"That is not what happened," Ms. Marie growled as she glared at the other woman's retreating back.

"Hey, you can tell me all about it on the trip to the other cabins. I'll stay as a chaperone and help you with the other students. My nephew will come with us. Right, Kilik?"

"Sure." Kilik said as he approached carrying his bags.

Ms. Marie looked touched for a moment but her expression changed to one of confusion. "But you don't have any clothes or supplies."

B.J.'s face slowly turned red and Kilik started to chuckle. "Actually, as soon as he heard you were going to be one of the chaperones he turned the car around to go pack for the trip. That's why we were late in the first place."

"Is that true?" Marie asked B.J.

B.J. shook his head quickly. "No! No, not at all." There was a pause in which everyone looked at him skeptically. "Shouldn't we be getting up to the cabins to set up!"

As they all got back on the bus Kid could see in Ms. Marie's expression that she was struggling with what to do about the situation. "Don't worry," he told her. "My father will have a talk with the school when we get back home."

"Yes, I think that I will be making some phone calls myself when this trip is over."

* * *

Most of the cabins in the separate campsite were too old and rundown to stay in even for only two nights. Kid was horrified by the state of the area. He questioned if they were even supposed to be staying there.

They were all standing in front of the bus except for B.J. who was helping the driver remove their bags. "Maybe we should just go home." Crona said in a small voice.

Kid nodded. "I agree."

"I'm with them," Liz agreed. "This feels like the beginning of a horror movie."

"Come on. I'm sure we can make the best of it. We can't let Mrs. Masters get the satisfaction of sending you guys home," Ms. Marie said as optimistically as she could. "There has to be at least one or two of these cabins in good condition."

B.J. walked over to them as the bus driver got back in the bus to drive away. "The driver said he'll be back to get us on Sunday morning."

"Come back. Take us with you," Maka muttered only loud enough for Kid to hear as the bus drove away. He reached over and squeezed her hand.

* * *

It took about an hour to find some cabins still in good condition. B.J. would be staying in one cabin with Kid and Kilik while Ms. Marie would be with Crona, Liz, and Maka.

Kid set his bags down on his bed and looked around the cabin. Mostly everything was just old. He didn't have so much of a problem with that. The appliances were at least ten years old, the bathroom fixtures were out of style, all of that was fine. It was when Kid saw mouse droppings behind the small dining table that he had to take a walk.

He walked down to a small creek not too far from the campsite. He kicked some rocks with the toe of his hiking boot causing them to splash into the water. He hated the outdoors. Enclosed spaces he could fix and change to his likings. He could make any room symmetrical, but how could any one person change all of nature to be perfectly symmetrical. There were too many variables. Just the thought of taking on such a project was overwhelming.

Kid heard leaves and twigs crunching behind him and he turned to see Maka approaching. Kid put his arms around her as soon as she reached him. "I hate this place," he complained.

"I think we all do. But Ms. Marie is determined to make the best of it."

Kid pressed a kiss to her forehead, but the moment was cut short when he heard the sharp sound of a stick snapping. He pulled away and glanced around. "What was that?"

Maka looked around too. "What was what?"

"I heard something." He walked towards some trees he was sure the sound had come from. Behind the trees a blue bandana lay abandoned. Kid picked it up and walked back to Maka. "I found this."

"That doesn't belong to any of us."

Kid turned it over in his hands. "Is anyone else staying here?"

"I don't think so, but we don't know how long that could have been there."

His brow furrowed. The bandana in his hands was pristine enough to be brand new. He knew there was no way it could have been sitting there for long.

They walked back to the campsite. Kid kept the blue bandana in his pocket. As they got closer they saw a truck pull up. A young man with blond hair and wearing a park ranger's uniform got out. Ms. Marie and B.J. approached him.

"Hello," the man greeted. "I am the park ranger around these parts. My name is Justin Law, but you can call me Justin."

"Hi," Ms. Marie replied. "Can you…" She gestured to his headphones that were playing music so loud they could all hear it clearly.

"Oh! Sorry." Justin pulled out his headphones with an embarrassed laugh. "Sometimes I forget I have them in." He reached forward to shake hands as B.J. and Ms. Marie introduced themselves. "I checked in on the rest of your group down a few miles back. They told me you were up here so I wanted to check in on you. Is everything going well?"

"Yes," B.J. assured him. "We appreciate your concern."

"If you want I can come check on you all again tomorrow since your half of the group is a little isolated."

"That would very nice," Ms. Marie accepted the offer. "Thank you, Justin."

"It's no problem. I will also keep you in my prayers." B.J. and Ms. Marie looked a little thrown and unsure how to reply. Thankfully he continued before they could. "I should get going. Have a nice visit."

"He's a bit odd," B.J. commented once the truck had driven away.

Ms. Marie nodded. "But it's nice to know he will be checking in on us."

"You don't trust me to keep you safe?" he asked in mock hurt.

She blushed as she tried to reply. "It's not that, B.J." He smiled at her and this caused her face to go even redder. Ms. Marie looked flustered as she tried to change the subject. "We haven't eaten lunch yet," she stated. "I'll go get it ready."

Everyone started heading to the picnic area. B.J. chuckled as he went. Kid started to follow but he stopped when he remembered the bandana in his pocket. He pulled it out to examine it again. He still couldn't believe how clean it was. The person it belonged to had to have been there only minutes, possibly moments before he had found it.

Kid swallowed hard as he carefully folded it back up and replaced it in his pocket. He watched his friends gathering in the picnic area. They were the only ones there. Even the park ranger Justin had said they were isolated. A shiver ran through his body at the thought of isolation. It made him recall that moment Noah had caught him alone at the hotel. His hands balled into fists. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about there possibly being danger hidden so nearby. Right now he just wanted to think about surviving a camping trip where he had no control over making things symmetrical. That was all that was expected of him.

* * *

A/N: I was a little shaky on how to portray B.J. and Kilik so please let me know if I can improve their characterization. As always I appreciate any feedback. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3:The Hunted

Chapter 3: The Hunted

" _And the Nobel Prize for symmetry goes to Kid."_

 _Kid stood up to accept his award. Everyone was cheering. His friends and his dad were beaming with pride._

" _I knew you could do it, Kid!" Blackstar shouted from where he stood on one of the tables. "You are way more awesome than I could ever be!"_

 _Kid walked onto the stage to receive his Nobel Prize._

Kid's eyes opened and he looked up at the dark ceiling above him. His mind was fuzzy from sleep as he tried to figure out why he had woken up. He was irritated that something had interrupted his sleep when he was finally have a good dream, a normal dream.

His mind slowly cleared as he sat up and looked around the dark room. Everything was barely visible in the moonlight coming through the windows. B.J. was snoring across the room and Kilik was breathing deeply from the bunk above him. Then he heard it. Another sound was coming from outside the cabin. Kid held his breath as he listened for it again. It was the sound of something moving outside, rustling through the shrubbery, crunching of dirt underfoot.

Part of him wanted to go check it out but his limbs wouldn't move. The sound moved as whatever it was walked around the perimeter of the cabin. Maybe it was just an animal, possibly a deer.

Kid laid back in bed and closed his eyes. He didn't know what to do. He had learned his lesson in the mental hospital that some things were better off unknown. Learning about Asura had satisfied his curiosity but had left him questioning every part of his life. As Kid wondered whether he should check out the sound he drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

* * *

Early the next morning Kid was half asleep as they hiked through the surrounding area searching for the mineral samples they were supposed to gather for their science class. He felt like he had not slept a wink.

About half an hour into the hike Kid realized that everyone had at least one sample while he had picked up nothing. He rubbed his eyes to try to wake himself up. He glanced around for one of the minerals on their collection list. Kilik reached down to pick up something so Kid grabbed a rock from the same area and hoped for the best.

Maka came over to him and looked at his collection bag. "Is that all you have?" she asked.

"Yeah, I haven't been having much luck," he replied as he stifled a yawn.

"You need to take this more seriously. This trip is nearly thirty percent of our grade."

"I know. I'm just tired."

"The sooner we finish the sooner we can go back and you can take a nap."

Kid nodded and started looking a bit more fervently for the mineral samples. Maybe a nap would help. He wandered away further from the group, backtracking a bit to find some of the samples that everyone else had already picked up.

"Where are you going?" Liz called over.

Kid waved her off. "I missed some so I'm going back. I'll catch up later."

She hesitated as if she was going to follow him. She took a step toward him but seemed to think better of it. "Don't take too long," she said before going after the group.

Kid backtracked a bit farther than he meant to. When he went to find the group again he found himself in an unfamiliar area. "Dammit!" he muttered to himself. He thought about going back to the campsite to wait for everyone. _I'll go a little farther and then turn around if I can't find anyone._

Kid walked for another five minutes marking the way he went by making patterns with rock or sticks. He stopped and finally gave up when he realized he was just getting himself more lost. He groaned at the thought of everyone teasing him about getting lost.

He turned around to follow his trail back when he heard the crunch of footsteps. He whipped around but nothing was there. He felt a sudden burst of adrenaline put him on high alert.

His breathing got faster and his heart beat hard in his chest. The sound of more footsteps had him turning again. Each new sound rattled him as he tried to keep track of where they were coming from.

Kid clenched his fists preparing for the possibility of a fight. He turned slowly in a circle refusing to let anything else startle him or take him by surprise. A hand shot out from behind and covered his mouth pulling him back hard. He stumbled back into a muscled chest. Before he could react he felt the sharp pinch of a needle being stabbed into the side of his neck. The trees around him started to spin and grow fuzzy. His limbs went limp and the attacker scooped him up into his arms. The last thing Kid saw was Noah's stony face before he went unconscious.

* * *

"I'm starting to get really worried about Kid," Maka said to Liz as the group backtracked to find him.

"Me too," Liz agreed. "He's been gone for too long."

"Don't worry. We'll find him," Ms. Marie reassured them.

They made it all the way back to the campsite with no sign of Kid. When they did not see him waiting for them at the cabins Maka saw B.J. and Marie exchange concerned glances. Ms. Marie spared a glance at her cell phone and there was barely concealed panic on her face. Maka looked down at her own phone. No service.

"Alright," B.J. started suddenly all business. "I'll go look for Kid while you guys wait here for that ranger Justin to come back. Marie, you can tell him that we are missing a student. God, Mr. Grimm will kill me if he finds out I lost his son." The last part was said more to himself.

"And what if you get lost out there?" Ms. Marie asked him seriously.

He unclipped something from his belt and held it up. It was a compass, obviously old but well cared for. It had an inscription on the back: _For B.J. Love, Dad_. "I won't get lost. I have this."

Ms. Marie looked unsure but she conceded. "Ok, but be careful. I'll let Justin know that you are both out there."

"Just make sure he does something more than praying."

Ms. Marie let a small smile through at that.

"I'm going with you," Maka said suddenly. She couldn't just sit there twiddling her thumbs while she waited for B.J. to find her boyfriend.

"No, Maka, we can't chance more than one student getting lost out there," Ms. Marie told her firmly.

"I can't just do nothing." Maka was holding her ground. She would not let them sway her.

B.J. looked hard at her. "It would be best if you stayed here."

"The longer we argue the longer Kid is out there alone. And besides you know that if you don't take me with you I'll just go look for him on my own."

Maka waited with baited breath to see if her tactic worked. B.J. and Ms. Marie looked at each other and seemed to be having a silent argument. Finally, Ms. Marie sighed. "Fine. As long as you do not leave B.J.'s side."

Maka nodded. "I won't," she promised.

"I'm going to," Kilik piped up.

B.J. looked conflicted for a moment but sighed heavier than Ms. Marie had. "Alright. Let's go. We need to get a move on."

As they left Maka spared a glance at Liz and Crona. They both looked like nervous wrecks. _Don't worry. We're going to bring him back._

* * *

When Kid woke up in an unfamiliar room he immediately recalled what had happened. He tried to jump up from the bed he was sprawled on but was yanked back by a handcuff around his right wrist connected to the headboard. Panic gripped his heart and his breathing came in short gasps. This couldn't really be happening. He pulled hard on the handcuff but it did nothing.

Footsteps approached the door and Kid held his breath. It opened and Noah entered wearing the blue bandana around his neck that Kid had found the previous day. Kid touched his pocket where it had been and predictably found it gone.

"Hello, Kid. I didn't expect you to wake up so quickly."

"Why am I here?" Kid demanded. His voice didn't waver even though he could feel his hands shaking.

"You're special. One of kind. I like to collect things that are unique."

Kid's nose wrinkled in revulsion. "So you collected me? I'm not an object."

Noah moved slowly closer. "I know that. I can't resist anything special: object or person."

The handcuff rattled against the headboard. Kid realized that he only had a handcuff on one hand. He closed his eyes for a moment trying to put it out of his mind. He refocused on Noah. "My friends will realize that I'm gone."

"That isn't important. I have someone who will take care of them."

Kid breathed in sharply. He didn't even think about that Noah could be working with someone else. "What?"

"You are all that is important to me. Soon enough we will be far from here and all of this will be a distant memory." Noah had moved close enough to run a hand through Kid's hair.

Kid violently shoved the hand away. "Don't touch me!" Noah relented and lowered his hand. "Why do you think I'm so special that you have to 'collect' me?"

"I knew there was something different about you since the moment I first saw you. You were only two but I could see that you were special." There was a knock on the door before Noah could continue. He frowned in annoyance. "One moment."

Noah opened the door a crack and spoke softly with whoever it was on the other side. Without another word he slipped out still blocking the other person from view as he left.

Kid had been hoping that Noah was lying about working with someone else but that hope had fled with that knock on the door. He wondered how long it had been since Noah had grabbed him. Did anyone even realize he was missing yet?

Kid pulled halfheartedly on the handcuff holding him hostage. He had to believe that he would get out of this. Everyone would be okay. Maka would be okay. If he let go of that hope he would have nothing left.


	4. Chapter 4:The Horrors Have Just Begun

**Trigger Warnings:** Violence

Chapter 4: The Horrors Have Only Just Begun

Maka, B.J., and Kilik looked for Kid in the surrounding areas. With each passing moment Maka became more fearful that she would never see Kid again. After he had agreed to go on a date with her that had started the happiest period of her life. She didn't think she could bear going back to how it was before.

They were about half an hour into their search when they heard someone approaching. Maka felt her heart swell at the possibility of seeing her boyfriend. Then Justin Law stepped through the trees. "Hello there," he greeted.

"Hi, Ranger Justin," B.J. said. "Did Marie tell you we were out here?"

Justin looked hesitant but nodded in reply. "Yes, she did then the Lord guided me to you. And please call me Justin."

"Well, Justin, I assume she told you about our problem."

"Yes, one of your students has gone missing."

B.J. nodded then said in a heavy voice. "I'm beginning to think we are going to need a search party. If you could drive me down to where I could get a cell phone signal I could talk to some of my contacts at the police department."

"Sure. I'll contact the ranger station on the way."

B.J. looked hesitantly from Maka to Kilik. "Can you guys make it back to the campsite on your own?"

"Of course, Uncle B.J." Kilik said confidently.

Maka nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

B.J. seemed to think better of it. "No, I should walk you back first."

"The campsite is that direction." Maka pointed back the way they came. "We know our way back. Don't worry."

"They'll be fine," Justin reassured him. "My truck is this way."

The two men walked away, B.J. continuing to look back until they were out of sight. Kilik started off in the direction of the campsite. "Maka, aren't you coming?" he asked when he noticed she wasn't following.

"No," she said simply. "I'm going to keep looking for Kid. Who knows how long it will take to form a search party."

"And what will it help if we get lost too?"

"I memorized the path we took. I won't be getting lost. If you want to go back to the campsite be my guest."

Kilik looked conflicted but headed off back to the campsite. Maka didn't blame him, but she would never forgive herself if she went back now. She continued on her search for her boyfriend.

* * *

Kid had pulled on the handcuff until his wrist was raw and had tried to the pick the lock with everything in reach. He had even tried to use his fingernail which he had broken off in the process.

Now he sat on the bed with his knees pulled up to his chest. He tried to conserve energy as he thought hard about his next move. The sudden sound of the door opening startled him. He jerked his head up and met the eyes of another boy only barely older than him.

Kid's eyes went wide. "Please, help me," he said quietly. "Please, help me get out of here."

"Like I would help you!" the boy spat. He threw a water bottle he had in his hand at Kid hitting him in the side of his face. "Noah told me to give this to you."

"Why would you work with Noah?"

The boy lunged at him and started hitting whatever bit of Kid he could reach. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY HIS NAME!"

Kid fought back best he could with his arm cuffed to the bed. "Get off!" he yelled. His fist connected with the boy's jaw. He only felt satisfied for a split second before he realized that this had only made the boy angrier.

"Gopher, what do you think you're doing?" At the sound of Noah's voice Gopher stopped and stepped away.

Gopher was breathing heavily as he said. "This boy needed to learn some respect."

Noah sighed wearily. "How many times do I have to tell you not to damage my collection? Remember what happened last time?"

"I- I got carried away."

"Don't let it happen again. Give me some privacy with Kid." Gopher glared daggers at Kid then left. "Sorry about him. Sometimes he doesn't recognize when he's gone too far. You know how kids can be."

Kid was trembling from his encounter but he was able to keep his voice even. "What did you mean earlier when you said you met me when I was two years old? You didn't start working for my dad until I was four."

Noah looked pleased by the question and Kid immediately regretted asking it. Noah sat down on the bed next to him and began his story. "I knew you brother Asura. He came to my high school for about a month but then he really started to lose it and he left. I remember the first time I visited your house. Your dad was trying to make some food for your mom and you were at the refrigerator organizing the magnets by color. Asura and I had come into the kitchen to get something to drink. You looked at me and smiled. You said hello in the sweetest voice. That's when I knew that I had to collect you."

Kid felt like he was going to vomit. He moved as far away from Noah as he could without falling off of the bed. "You're sick!" Kid hissed in a hoarse voice.

Noah's eyes narrowed. "Your dad poisoned you against me. When you were little you loved me and I loved you. I still do love you. You just have to remember how you felt about me."

A hollow laugh bubbled out of Kid's throat. "And people think I have mental issues. I was a young child with a dad who worked all the time. I was happy for any adult to pay attention to me. And I'm still a child. I'm only fifteen."

"You've always been mature. You've always been frustrated with adults patronizing you. I was the only one who treated you like you were important. I've always seen who you really are. Even your own father sent you away. I will never do that to you. Tomorrow we are going to leave together and we will always stay together."

"I'm not going with you. Someone will find me. I will go home and you will go to prison. And I will never love you." Kid said the last words venom and glared at the man beside him.

Noah got to his feet and walked to the door. He paused and turned back to Kid. "You'll come around." When he exited the room Kid could hear the beginnings of Noah's conversation with Gopher. "Gopher, I have a job for you."

After Noah left Kid felt his strength drain from him and he laid down on the bed. This couldn't really be happening. This had to be some nightmare that he would soon wake up from.

His whole body ached from the beating he had received from Gopher. He could feel only one eye starting to swell. He thought about requesting that Gopher also punch him in the other eye. "No, no, no. What's wrong with you?" he said out loud to himself.

Tears filled his eyes but he refused to let them fall. He would not cry, he couldn't. He had to stay strong now. Once this was all over then he could break down. Right now he couldn't let them see him be weak.

* * *

Maka sighed as she sat down on a rock to rest. She sipped water from her canteen and closed her eyes for moment. She wondered where Kid could have gone. It had to be impossible that he would be too far away. She worried that he was hurt somewhere and that she had already missed him. At that thought Maka got to her feet and kept walking.

When she stopped again later for another drink from her canteen she could hear someone walking behind her. Her first thought was that it was Kilik having changed his mind. She turned around and came face to face with an unfamiliar boy not much older than her. Before she could say a word his fist collided with her face. She fell backwards and landed on her backside hard.

Tears collected in her eyes at the pain in her nose. She was so stunned that the boy had a chance to grab her by one of her pigtails. He hauled her to her feet nearly ripping out her hair.

"Let go!" she screamed as she aimed a kick for his knee.

When her foot connected he let go and stumbled back howling in pain. "You little bitch!"

"What's your problem? Did you hurt Kid?"

He lunged at her and Maka dove out of the way. Unfortunately he was able to grab her ankle. Maka kicked and flailed as he pulled her towards him. "Your boyfriend has been nothing but trouble for me. I think once I kill you I'm going to show him pictures of your dismembered body and laugh as he cries over them."

Maka would have been greatly disturbed if she hadn't already focused on the first part of his statement. "You know where Kid is?"

He stood over her and stomped down hard on the ankle he had grabbed her by. There was a sickening crunch and Maka screamed in pain. Suddenly a figure came flying out of nowhere and punched the boy hard in the side of his head. It only took one hit and the boy was knocked unconscious. Kilik turned to Maka and helped her sit up. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "No, I think he broke my ankle. Thanks for saving my life."

"Who was that guy?"

"I don't know but he knows where Kid is."

Kilik looked back at the other boy. "I don't think he's going to be in a helping mood when he wakes up. We should get out of here while he's down for the count."

Maka hesitated but slowly nodded. "You're right."

Kilik carefully pulled her to her feet and he put his arm around her waist. They started the slow trek back to the campsite.


	5. Chapter 5: Where It All Breaks Down

A/N: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who is reading this story. I appreciate all of my readers and reviewers. :)

 **Trigger Warning:** Non-consensual kissing

Chapter 5: Where It All Breaks Down

Ms. Marie paced the cabin waiting for Justin to come check on them. She was starting to worry that he had forgotten about them. "Could this day get any worse?" she muttered.

Crona and Liz were sitting at the tiny dining table playing cards in an attempt to distract themselves. Marie glanced over at them and she could see that they were barely keeping it together. Liz was perpetually on the brink of tears and Crona's hands were trembling as he reached to draw a card.

"Maybe we could walk down to the other campsite and tell Mrs. Masters what happened?" Liz asked thickly.

Marie shook her head. "I can't leave you two by yourselves and if we all go down there we might miss Justin or B.J. if he comes back." She checked her cell phone again. Still no signal.

There was a knock on the cabin door and Marie practically sprinted to answer it. She threw open the door to find Justin standing there. "I came to check on you as promised," he announced.

"Thank you so much!" she gushed as she let him in. "We are currently missing a student. B.J. already took two of our other students to go look for him."

"Alright, well I will need a description of the missing student and then I can alert the ranger station."

As Justin moved to pull out a notebook Marie noticed something clipped to his belt swaying slightly. It was a familiar looking compass, old but well cared for. As it twisted on his belt she saw an inscription on the back. _To B.J. Love, Dad._

Ms. Marie had to hold back a gasp. Her mind worked at top speed trying to figure out what this meant. Justin had seen B.J., but B.J. would not have easily parted with something that meant so much to him. As Justin opened his notebook Marie saw a few dots of red on his cuff. It was blood.

"Liz, Crona, can you two go get your cell phones from the bedroom and see if you have any photos of Kid?" They both got up and did as she asked. As Crona walked by her she grabbed his wrist. As Justin was distracted with finding a clean page in his notebook she whispered. "Stay in there. Lock the door."

When Crona locked the door Liz turned to him. "What are you doing?"

"Ms. Marie told me to lock the door. I think that there's something wrong. Maybe Justin isn't a good guy."

Liz pressed her ear to the door. "She asked him how he got B.J.'s compass."

Crona's eyes went wide. "What?"

A sudden crash caused Liz to jump away from the door. "Oh my God!"

"He's going to hurt her!" Crona reached to open the door but Liz stopped him. She pulled him to the back of the room and sat down on the floor pulling him down with her. "I have to help her!"

"We can't. All we'll do is get in the way!"

Crona could feel her shaking beside him. Liz was scared. He was scared too but Ms. Marie took care of him, loved him. He couldn't lose her. There were more crashes outside the door and then a scream. Crona couldn't take it. He leapt to his feet and ran to the door.

"Crona, don't!" Liz cried.

"Stay here." He slipped through the door.

Ms. Marie was on the floor backed into a corner. Half of her face was red and beginning to bruise. Justin was kneeling in front of her his hands around her neck, blood dripping from his nose. Marie was clawing at his hands as she gasped for air.

Crona didn't know what to do. Justin hadn't noticed him yet and Ms. Marie's life was in danger.

"Look for a weapon, you moron!" he heard Ragnarok's faint voice tell him.

He looked around quickly for some sort of weapon. That's when he saw it. One of the cabinet doors was hanging off of its hinges, inside lay a rusted hammer. He ran forward and grabbed it.

Justin heard him and turned. Crona froze when he saw the manic expression on the young man's face. "Do something!" Ragnarok yelled his voice growing stronger.

"This is taking too long!" Justin growled as he reached for the knife on his belt.

Crona slid the hammer across the floor to Marie. "Mom!" he cried to get her attention.

Marie grabbed the hammer and slammed it into the side of Justin's head.

Sunset was fast approaching when Maka and Kilik approached the outskirts of the campsite. They still had a ways to go before they reached the cabins. Kilik lowered Maka onto a rock to rest for a moment. He kneeled in front of her to check the condition of her ankle. It had swollen to twice its normal size. Kilik sucked in air through his teeth at the sight.

"That looks bad," he commented.

"It feels worse than it looks," she told him.

Kilik straightened up and looked around. "Let me see if I can find a stick or something to make a splint out of."

He walked a few feet away and started looking for a stick that would be sturdy enough for their purposes. He pulled through some bushes to see if any of their branches would work. He paused when he found a small black box buried within it.

"What the hell is this?" he asked as he pulled it out to show Maka.

Maka peered at it from her place on the rock. "I've seen one of those before," she said slowly. "I think it's used to interrupt cell signals or something."

"You're telling me someone put this here to keep us from calling for help."

Maka jumped to her feet without thinking and had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from screaming. "We have to… go tell… the others," she said in gasps.

"Let's go."

Liz had her hair tied back. She had turned back into Patty. She stood over Justin's unconscious body poking the side of his face. "He looks funny when he's sleeping," she commented.

Marie was holding Justin's phone trying to guess the password. "Patty, please stay away from him."

Crona was shaking. He looked around jerkily feeling like the cabin was suddenly too small. "I need some air," he said heading for the door.

"Crona, leave the door open and stay in view."

"Yeah," he agreed as he opened the door. As he exited the cabin he saw two figures approaching. "Maka! What happened?" He ran over to meet Maka and Kilik. "Here." He moved to help support Maka to keep her weight off of her injured foot.

When they got inside Maka and Kilik explained what had happened. "We found a cell phone jammer near the campsite," Kilik said as he pulled the small black box out of his pocket. "We turned it off so we should be able to call out now."

Marie pulled out her phone to check. "I'm calling the police," she told them. "Then we are going to take Justin's truck down to the other half of our group."

Kid awoke with a start when he heard a door bang open. He had somehow dozed off and now Gopher was glaring at him from the doorway. "This is your fault," the other boy said in a dangerous, low voice.

"What happened?" Kid asked still trying to get his bearings.

Gopher slowly walked forward, closing in on him. "Your bitch of a girlfriend got away and now Noah is disappointed in me."

"Maka's alive." Kid said this more to himself. He was reassuring himself that Maka was okay.

"Not for long. Noah went to finish the job. But that means you and I can have some fun."

Kid felt his heart drop into his stomach but kept his expression neutral. "Does hurting others make you feel strong? Because all it really proves is that you are a coward."

Gopher smirked as he walked forward. He grabbed Kid's chin roughly and forced him to look up. "I don't understand what Noah sees in you. Ever since he took me in, all I ever hear is 'Kid this' and 'Kid that'. I guess I was expecting more when we finally obtained you." His expression changed it seemed almost vulnerable for a moment. "He doesn't look at me the way he looks at you."

"Why would you want him to?" Kid said with disgust.

Gopher let go of his chin for a moment to slap him hard across the face, before resuming his grip. "Because he is a God who walks among us."

Kid couldn't help but laugh. It was a little bit pathetic that Gopher actually believed that. He looked up at Gopher and opened his mouth to say as much but paused. The other boy was frowning hard. His mouth turned down harshly. Kid swallowed hard. Gopher's mouth was crooked. Up to this point Kid had kept a tight reign on his OCD. The one handcuff had been especially difficult. This was his breaking point. He tried to turn his head away. "Stop it! Stop frowning! Your mouth is so crooked it's disgusting. God, get your mouth fixed."

Gopher released him in surprise. "What?"

"Get someone to make your mouth symmetrical! A doctor or something."

"It bothers you when things are asymmetrical?"

Kid stiffened when he heard the interested tone in Gopher's voice. "No," he said slowly. He couldn't believe his own stupidity. He just alerted his torturer to his biggest weakness.

Gopher reached forward and grabbed Kid's right sleeve. He pulled hard and the seam tore. He held up the sleeve in front of Kid. "Does that bother you? Only having one sleeve."

Kid held his breath. He couldn't let it bother him. He shook his head in reply, but he could feel the air hitting his now naked arm. He let out the breath he was holding. "Take the other sleeve off!" he cried. "Please!"

Gopher laughed gleefully. The sound grated on Kid's frayed nerves. "This is great! What else can we do?"

Kid didn't know how long the torture continued for. All he knew was that he saw in the window on the far wall of the room the sun sink below the horizon and the world outside grow dark.

Half of his face was stained with marker, only half of his hair was mussed, there were shallow cuts made with a knife only on the arm with no sleeve; he felt like the embodiment of asymmetry. Self-loathing seeped out of every pore. _Filthy. Disgusting. Garbage. You should just do the world a favor and lay down and die._ He started to tap. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight._

"Gopher!" Noah had returned. Gopher looked nervous as he exited the room. They stayed near the door to his room, unintentionally allowing Kid to hear the conversation. "I had to come back. There are police everywhere."

"We can still get away," Gopher insisted. "Together. If we leave him behind."

There was silence for a moment. "Yeah," Noah reluctantly agreed."

Kid felt his heart soar. It was over. They were going to leave him and he would be able to go home.

Noah continued. "There's just something I need to do first." He entered the room. Upon seeing Kid he turned back to Gopher. "Really?" Gopher gave an embarrassed shrug. "Sometimes I think you're more trouble than your worth." The boy's lips turned down in his crooked frown as Noah shut the door.

Noah stood across the room looking Kid over. "You're a mess," he commented.

Kid bowed his head in shame. He didn't care what Noah thought but he was ashamed to let anyone see him like this. Suddenly, Noah was there by his side. The man reached over and tore off the other sleeve. He used it to wipe the marker from Kid's face. Kid felt relieved, almost grateful.

Noah tossed the stained material aside. "That's better." He reached up and touched the side of Kid's face. Kid flinched away but Noah didn't move his hand this time. "We're going to leave. Gopher and I. But we will come back for you again. Until then I want to leave you something to remember me by."

Kid felt his stomach churn as Noah leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. He tried to pull away but Noah suddenly gripped the back of his neck hard, holding him there. When he pulled away Kid did something he had never done in his life as he considered it a filthy habit. He spit in Noah's face.

There was a long moment where both of them were still. Then Noah slowly wiped the spit from his face, smiling as if humoring Kid. Then his expression suddenly went stony. He grabbed Kid by his hair and pulled him close to his face.

Kid was paralyzed. He didn't know why but he couldn't seem to move. Noah's eyes were wild. It was like looking into the eyes of a rabid animal.

Noah leaned in to whisper directly into Kid's ear. "I was going to be gentle with you," he said softly. "But now…"

Kid felt like he couldn't breathe. He didn't know exactly what Noah was going to do but his tone implied that it was going to be much worse than anything Gopher had done. Hot tears started rolling down his cheeks. _So much for staying strong._


	6. Chapter 6: The Aftermath

A/N: I apologize that my updates may be a little slow for this story. The heavy subject matter has me a little burned out. I have the next chapter mostly written but after that I'm not sure how long it will take. I'm hoping that I will be able to find a good flow of inspiration again.

 **Trigger Warning:** Implied sexual assault (not explicit)

Chapter 6: The Aftermath

The police were searching the woods for any sign of Kid or B.J. Maka was being loaded up into the back of an ambulance. She looked around and saw organized chaos. Kilik was speaking with a police officer giving them any information he could give them about his uncle, Ms. Marie and Mrs. Masters were talking to detectives, Crona was doing his best to keep Patty occupied as they waited for their turns to be interviewed, and then there was the rest of students being herded onto the buses to be taken home.

Maka hissed out through her teeth in pain as the paramedics put an inflatable cast on her ankle. "We're going to give you something for the pain," one of the paramedics said sympathetically.

"No. I'll be fine," she said with a shake of her head. She didn't want anything clouding her mind. She wanted to be aware when someone told her that they found Kid. And they would, she had to believe that they would.

"I knew those kids would be nothing but trouble. Ruining the trip for everyone else." Mrs. Masters said loudly drawing everyone's attention.

Ms. Marie didn't hold back this time. She slapped the other woman hard across the face and while she was stunned pulled her hand back to hit her again. An officer grabbed Marie's arm and stopped her.

"I want her arrested and charged with assault!" Mrs. Masters shrieked.

The officer who had held Ms. Marie back turned to Mrs. Masters, an unimpressed look on her face. "To be honest, ma'am, I think we having bigger problems right now. And I think everyone here would agree in saying that none of us saw a thing."

Maka couldn't help the tired smile on her face when she heard what the officer said.

Marie glared at Mrs. Masters as the other woman went to board one of the buses with the children. When she was gone Marie let her shoulders slump. She felt defeated. She had failed in her job to keep the children in her charge safe. Kid was gone, Maka and Kilik had been attacked and Maka was also injured, Crona and Liz had been subjected to witnessing Justin's attack.

Paramedics tried to get her to let them check her out. She waved them off. She overheard an officer say something about B.J. over the radio. Thoughts about what Justin had done to B.J. went through her mind. Hopefully, it wasn't anything irreparable. She would never forgive herself if something bad had happened to him. She shouldn't have let him go off to look for Kid with Maka and Kilik. She should have handled this properly.

She and B.J. had dated ages ago but he broke up with her when he got a job offer in another country. She hadn't been aware that he had come back. In their short time being able to talk before Kid disappeared he had told her that some stuff had happened and he actually came back after only a year abroad. He had been too embarrassed to get into contact with her. Earlier that day they had started talking about possibly starting over.

Marie was pulled out of her thoughts when a detective approached her. "Marie," the detective said softly. "We believe that we have found Mr. Buttataki's body. The body doesn't have any identification on him. We don't want to tell his nephew until it is confirmed but it is very likely that it's him. We will deliver the body to the medical examiner's office and we will have his brother confirm it there."

Marie expected to be upset, to cry, but she just felt very calm. "I can do it," she said in a voice that sounded far away to her. "I just need someone to take us back into town."

The detective looked around. "Oh, it looks like the buses left without you. I can have some officers drive you all back."

Marie kept a brave face for Crona, Liz, and Kilik. It was frightening how easy it was. When they arrived at the police station she left them with an officer. Crona held tightly onto her hand, reluctant to let her go. "It'll be fine," she told him. "I'll be right back. I promise."

The medical examiner's office was not far away. The detective took her to a window that looked into a room. There was body under a white sheet laying on a metal table. Marie felt like she was inside a dream. There was a disconnect between her and what was happening.

Inside the room a man in a white coat lifted the sheet just enough for Marie to see a face. It was undeniably B.J. The man she once loved was dead. She turned away. This was real, too real. "No," she whispered.

"Is that Mr. Buttataki?" the detective asked.

Marie nodded. "Yes," she said in a tight voice. "That's B.J." A tear rolled down her cheek. She was never going to be able to talk to him again, hold him again.

* * *

Mr. Grimm sat holding a Styrofoam cup of tea in his hands. It was nearly two in the morning and he had had more cups of tea than he could count while waiting for news about his son. He felt like he was holding his breath indefinitely and he wouldn't be able to breathe again until he saw his son.

News of B.J.'s death had come as a blow and it had only increased his already overflowing worry about Kid. Kid was his whole world. If he lost his son he wouldn't know what to do. He would probably just break.

He was staring intently into his cup and jerked his head up when he heard footsteps quickly approaching. A young officer stopped in front of him. "We found your son," she said breathlessly.

The cup fell from his hands as he stood. "Is he okay?"

"All I know is that he is being flown by helicopter to St. Mary's."

"He's alive?"

The officer gave him a kind smile. "Yes, sir. He's being taken to the hospital."

Mr. Grimm felt like his head was spinning. His son was alive. He was going to see his son again.

* * *

Kid woke up but didn't open his eyes. He didn't want to open them and see the room in Noah's cabin. If he kept his eyes closed for a bit longer maybe he could pretend he was home in his bed. He shifted his arm and expected to feel the restricting pull of the handcuff but his arm moved freely. It was then that he realized he was no longer in the cabin.

His eyes fluttered open and he let out a shuttering breath of relief. It was a hospital room that surrounded him not the walls of that awful cabin. His father was asleep in a chair beside his bed, a hand lay on the pillow next to his head reaching out toward him.

Kid tried to remember how he got there. When had he been found? Flashes of Noah, hands touching his body, hot breaths on the side of his face- He was going to be sick. He tried to reach for the bowl left for these purposes on the table connected to his bed but he was too late. There was nothing in his stomach, only green bile came up and ran down the front of his hospital gown.

Kid grabbed tissues and tried to clean himself up. He was disgusted with himself. A hand suddenly took the tissues from him. His father helped wordlessly wipe his chin. Kid burned with shame. It was like he was a helpless child unable to do a single thing for himself.

"Dad, you don't have to," he stated hoarsely as he blinked back the embarrassed tears that threatened to fall.

His dad shook his head in reply. He threw the soiled tissues in the trash and then hit the nurse call button. "We can ask a nurse to bring you a clean hospital gown."

They didn't talk as they waited for a nurse and then waited for the gown. The smell of the bile made Kid feel like if he opened his mouth he might vomit again. He couldn't tell what his dad was thinking. His expression just seemed unbearably sad. Kid felt guilty that he was the cause of it.

When they received the gown his father offered to help him change. The thought of hands touching him, even his father's hands that he knew would never hurt him, made him shake his head quickly in reply. "I can do it."

Kid pulled off the soiled gown carefully and found that each movement was difficult for his sore body. There was gasp from his father and Kid looked down at himself to see that ugly, dark bruises covered his body. He quickly pulled the fresh hospital gown on.

"I'm sorry," his dad said quietly. "Do- do you remember what happened?"

"No," Kid said quickly. He didn't want to think about the flashes he had seen when he tried to recall it earlier. "Not really."

* * *

Maka had stayed overnight in the hospital. Her father slept on a cot they had brought into the room for him. She remembered early in the morning before the sun had risen her dad had woken her up and told her that Kid had been found. She had thought she was dreaming and fell back asleep.

Now Maka sat up in bed, her ankle wrapped in a proper cast and elevated. Soul who had come to see her sat by her bedside flipping through channels on the TV.

"I want to go see Kid," Maka told her dad.

Her dad shook his head. "You can see him later but right now you need to rest. The doctor said he would discharge you later today. You can go visit him then."

"You're going to keep me from seeing my boyfriend after everything we've both been through?"

"You can see him later, I promise."

Maka crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. But the least you can do is go get me something better than what passes for food here."

Her dad eagerly nodded, glad that his daughter needed him for something."Yeah, of course. Will you be fine here with Soul?"

Maka waved him off and after her dad left she threw the book she had been reading at Soul.

"What was that for?" Soul growled as he rubbed where the book had collided with his head.

"I need you to go get me a wheelchair so we can go see Kid."

Soul smirked. "That's the Maka I know and love. I knew you had given up too easily with your dad."

Soul left the room and came back a few minutes later with a wheelchair he had commandeered. He helped Maka into the chair and they made their way to Kid's room careful to avoid any nurses who might send them back.

When they arrived there was a police officer guarding Kid's room. "Hey, we're here to see our friend," Soul said.

The officer looked at them and shook his head. "I'm not supposed to let anyone in here."

Maka frowned. "Kid is my boyfriend. Just ask him."

The officer sighed and knocked on the door. Kid's dad leaned out a moment later. "They say that they know your son."

Kid's dad turned to them with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Maka, Soul, but Kid isn't up to having visitors just yet."

Maka felt her stomach twist with concern. "What happened to him?"

"This isn't something to talk about right now. I'm sorry." He retreated back into the room and the officer moved back in front of the door.

As Soul wheeled her back to her room. Maka tried to fight back the tears threatening to fall. She needed to see Kid. She needed to know he was going to be okay. But apparently he wasn't okay. Everything had been as perfect as anything she could imagine; up until yesterday anyways.

"Don't worry, Maka," Soul said encouragingly. "He probably just needs to rest. We can try again tomorrow."

Maka nodded. "Yeah, tomorrow."


	7. Chapter 7: The Damage Done

Chapter 7: The Damage Done

It felt like he hadn't been home in ten years. Everything looked the same but it all felt like it belonged to a stranger. As Kid crossed the threshold he started tapping. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight._ When he had been laid up in a hospital bed some part of him thought that going home would erase the nightmare that had occurred. All that had happened was that he brought the nightmare home with him and made it reality.

"Maybe we could watch a movie," his dad suggested in a forced facsimile of his normally light voice. "Are you hungry, or thirsty? Let me get you some orange juice."

"I don't have a cold, Dad. Orange juice isn't going to make this better." The words had come out more harshly than Kid had intended and he could see the hurt in his dad's eyes. "I- I'm just tired," he said with a sigh. "I'm going to take a nap."

"Sure. Whatever you need."

His room gave him the same distant feeling. It belonged to some other OCD teenager who kept everything too neat. It couldn't be his room. Kid tried to feel familiarity but there was only hollowness. It wasn't like the emptiness he had felt when he was drugged in the mental hospital what seemed like an eternity ago. He wasn't void of feeling it was like he was feeling too much. There were too many emotions for him to discern and they were all piling up.

Kid walked over and started stripping his bed. He carefully folded the sheets and set them in a pile by the door. When he had finished he laid down on the bare mattress.

There were hands grabbing him and Kid was trying to fight back. "Kid, stop. It's your dad. You're safe."

Kid opened his eyes to see his father's face. He stopped fighting but still pushed his dad's hands away. "Why did you wake me up?" Kid asked.

His dad looked at him with concern. "You were screaming," he said softly.

Kid rubbed his hands over his face and found tears on his cheeks. He huffed out a frustrated sigh. "I'm fine," he said weakly.

His dad nodded. "If you want to talk-"

"There's nothing to talk about," Kid snapped. "I already told you and the police that I don't remember anything."

"I was going to say that I set up an appointment for you with Dr. Barrett next week. He is taking patients again and you said that you liked him…"

Kid didn't know what to say. He didn't want to talk to anyone about anything. Especially not so soon after… everything. "It won't do any good since I don't remember anything."

"Well, then you can talk to him about something else. I don't know how to help you. This is the best I can do." His dad sounded helpless and at a loss.

Kid felt like a jerk. This was difficult for his dad too. He wanted to apologize but the words got tangled in his mouth. "I'm going to take a shower," he said instead.

Kid stood under the steady spray of water and closed his eyes attempting to clear his mind. He focused only on the sensation of the water. It worked for a few moments. Suddenly, he felt like there were arms around him and Noah's breath was on his ear. His chest was being crushed and he couldn't breathe.

Kid's eyes snapped open. He stumbled out of the shower in a panic and grabbed his towel, trying to cover as much of himself as possible. His legs gave out beneath him causing him to sink to the floor.

There was a light knock on the bathroom door and his dad's concerned voice muffled by the sound of the running water asked. "Are you okay in there?"

Kid opened his mouth to call back to him that he was fine but the tightness in his throat refused to let any sound pass. He choked on the words he tried to force out. The moisture in the room was just making his throat feel thicker.

"Kid? Are you okay?" his dad called a bit louder, worry growing.

"I'm fine!" he finally got out. It sounded strangled and weak, like a wounded animal. It sounded nothing like him. Frustrated tears collected in his eyes and he suddenly felt small and lost and he hated the feeling.

"Are you sure?"

He cleared his throat and made an effort to keep his voice steady. "Yeah." His voice was steady, strong, dignified. That sounded more like him, even if he was sitting on his bathroom floor in a broken heap in nothing but a towel.

* * *

The day of B.J.'s funeral arrived and Kid stood in front of the bathroom mirror tying his tie. When he had finished his gaze drifted to the reflection of his face. Most of the bruises had faded enough that they were barely visible. Now they were just slight discolorations of yellow and green.

A knock on the door came. "Come in."

His dad opened the door. "Are you sure you want to come to the funeral? No one would blame you if you wanted to stay home."

"I should be there." _It is my fault any of this happened…_

"Okay," his dad sounded hesitant as if he was debating whether he should make Kid stay behind. "We should leave in about fifteen minutes then." Apparently he had decided against it.

* * *

Kid sat next to his father in the church pew, now wishing he had stayed home instead. Attending the funeral had been a mistake. He was starting to feel like being there was disrespectful to B.J.'s memory. Kid knew it was his fault Noah came after everyone. If Noah hadn't been after him then Justin wouldn't have had a reason to kill B.J.

Kid spotted Kilik sitting with his parents at the front. The other boy looked heartbroken. Kilik seemed to feel eyes on him and glanced in Kid's direction. Kid looked away quickly. Somehow his eyes ended up meeting Maka's gaze. He swallowed hard. He had been avoiding her. Her hurt expression made him feel even worse.

When he had still been in the hospital he had refused any visitors. Well, all except one.

 _Kid had been in the hospital for two days when he was told he would be discharged soon. There was a knock on the door and Kid's dad went to talk with the guard. "You have a visitor!" his dad announced._

 _Kid kept his eyes on the book he was attempting to read. "I don't want to see anyone." He had been turning down any and all visitors that came by._

 _The visitor pushed their way into the room and a blue haired boy suddenly appeared at the foot of his bed grinning like an idiot. "Hi, Kid!" Blackstar greeted loudly._

 _Tsubaki ran in after him as Kid's dad told the guard not to worry about it._

" _Blackstar, if Kid doesn't want visitors then we have to respect that," Tsubaki said nervously. "He's been through a lot."_

" _Well, seeing me should help the healing process." Blackstar climbed onto the bed and handed Kid a gift bag. "This is for you."_

 _Kid's first instinct was to yell at Blackstar for barging into his hospital room, but something stopped him. He opened the bag and started pulling out the contents. There were several bags of assorted candy, a small stuffed dog, and a package of finger skateboards. "Thank you," Kid said after a moment._

 _From there Blackstar bounced around the room and Tsubaki had to do her best to keep him from touching everything. Kid couldn't find it in him to be annoyed. Blackstar was a welcome distraction from thinking._

" _So what do you do here?" Blackstar asked as he messed with the bed controls._

 _Kid felt the bed going backwards and slapped Blackstar's hands away from the controls so he could put it back how he wanted it. "I get poked and prodded by nurses and doctors. And when that's not happening I read mostly."_

 _Tsubaki smiled apologetically. "We can leave if you want. I mean, I know that you probably want to rest."_

 _Kid shook his head. "No, you can both stay."_

 _The best part was that Blackstar didn't try to get him to talk about what happened. He didn't act differently around him either. Blackstar would always be Blackstar and he would always treat Kid the same as he always did._

* * *

At the reception Kid stood outside unable to bring himself to eat or socialize. There were too many people and they were all talking about B.J., some less tactful guests talking about how he had died. Even if they weren't saying it out loud he could feel accusations toward him under the surface.

The sound of the door opening turned his head. Maka maneuvered her way out the door with her crutches.

"You're avoiding me," Maka stated when she came to stand beside him.

Kid crossed his arms over his chest, the accusation in her voice making him defensive. He already felt guilty enough he didn't need another helping piled on. "I wasn't ready to see anyone."

"I'm not anyone and I heard that Blackstar got to see you." She sounded a bit jealous but mostly hurt.

Kid sighed. "Blackstar didn't give me much of a choice."

Maka fixed him with a focused gaze that refused to release him. "What happened?" To anyone else the question would have sounded vague but Kid knew exactly what she was asking about.

He felt exposed with Maka looking at him with such searching eyes. "I don't remember. Noah took me and then next thing I know the police were there and Noah was gone."

"You don't remember anything else?" Maka reached out and touched his arm.

Kid remembered a time when he would have leaned into the touch but now it felt like a stranger was touching him. He pulled away from her. A voice in the back of his mind told him that Maka shouldn't want to touch him. "I just told you I don't!" he snapped.

Maka frowned. "Okay. You don't have to yell."

"Apparently I do, because you push, Maka. You push until someone pushes back. You act like you know more than everyone around you. Well, I think I know what I do and don't remember!"

"Alright! I get it. I'm sorry."

The confused, hurt expression on Maka's face made Kid feel like he had been thrown off balance. He didn't know why he had yelled at her. He looked down at the cast around her ankle. He had heard that Gopher had done that to her. Gopher had attacked her to hurt him. And now he was just hurting her even more. All of this was his fault.

Maybe he wasn't good for her anymore. He was different now and she deserved someone who wasn't so… damaged. She deserved someone who wouldn't cause her pain. "We should break up," he said before he could change his mind.

"What?" Maka said in a stunned voice. "I said I was sorry."

"I'm breaking up with you, Maka." Kid took a step back. If he let her he knew she could change his mind. He had to get out of there. "I have to go."

On the ride home Kid wondered if he had made a mistake. But a sense of relief started to overtake the initial sting. Relationships required vulnerability and that was one less person who would ask him to open up.


	8. Chapter 8: Invisible Scars

A/N: I just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate all of my readers and reviewers. Thank you for sticking with this story even if it takes me a little longer to update sometimes.

Chapter 8: Invisible Scars

Kid stood staring at Sid's office door. He didn't want to go in. A dramatic part of him considered running away. Just not going in or going home but leaving all together. He had broken up with Maka, he had turned down visits from his friends, and day by day he could feel a rift being created and widened between him and his father.

Kid's thoughts of taking such drastic action were interrupted by the sight of Sid's crooked name card on the door. He reached up and attempted to push it back into place. But then it was too far over the other way. He stood there pushing it back and forth doing his best to make it perfect. He lost track of the minutes he spent there being so focused on his task.

The door opened and Sid stood there looking a bit stunned to see him. "Hi there, Kid. I thought you had ditched your appointment."

Kid tried to hide the surprise he felt at seeing Sid's scarred face. He wondered what kind of "accident" Medusa had arranged for the psychiatrist that could have caused such damage. Kid swallowed his curiosity and turned his attention back to the door. "I need to fix this before we start," he told Sid.

Sid stepped out into the hallway and closed the door. "There's no one around right now. We could talk while you do that, if you don't mind."

Kid's finger slipped and he pushed the card a bit too far to the left. "I guess not." It wasn't as if he was going to tell Sid anything too private. He didn't even remember most of what happened on the camping trip. He reached to push the card back to the right but paused at the sight of his own trembling hand.

* * *

Crona stepped up to the nurses' desk having finally worked up his nerve. He anxiously rubbed his hands together and asked in a small voice. "I'm visiting someone and I need their room number."

The nurse smiled at him. "What's the name, sweetie?"

His mouth went dry at the question and he wanted to bolt. "J- Justin Law."

The nurse's kind expression became guarded. "I'm not supposed to give out that room number."

Crona unconsciously took a step back. _"Did you really think it would work to just ask, you moron?"_ Ragnarok's weakened voice mocked.

"I- I- I'm family," Crona lied shakily. "Please, can I have his room number?"

The nurse looked conflicted. After a minute of hemming and hawing she finally gave him the room number.

* * *

Crona stared down at the visitor's band on his wrist while riding up in the elevator. First he had cut school, now he was lying… He leaned against the wall of the elevator as if the weight of his sins had suddenly increased the gravity around him.

"I have to do this." He didn't even sound convincing to his own ears.

When the elevator doors opened he hesitated. His whole body was trembling as he slowly shuffled to the edge of the compartment.

"You okay there, miss?" A tired man asked as he boarded the elevator.

Crona shook his head, then nodded. "I don't know if I can do it," he said hoarsely. "I don't think I can handle this."

The man put a hand on Crona's shoulder and said in a concerned voice. "Do you need me to get a nurse?"

"No!" Crona answered a bit too loudly. He exited the elevator quickly and let out a shaky sigh when he heard the doors close behind him.

As he walked down the halls looking for Justin's room it started to feel as if the walls were closing in. He could tell by the numbering of the rooms that he was getting closer. The walls were suffocating him. The temptation to leave was as overwhelming as his claustrophobia but he kept going. He needed to see Justin. He needed to know that the man was truly never going to hurt Ms. Marie again.

The room was one with glass walls that could easily be seen into. Crona stayed off to the side so that he could see in but the one visitor couldn't see him. He held his breath as he took in the sight. Justin Law was in the bed hooked up to a ventilator and other machines that Crona didn't know the uses of. Most of his blond hair had been shaved off, probably from the initial surgery to fix the injury Ms. Marie had given him with the hammer. From what Crona could see the young man looked practically dead. He wasn't just pale but his skin had taken on a gray tinge. His eyes had started to sink in, making him look gaunt. A middle aged woman was holding his hand and reading to him. Every few moments she would look at him as if expecting him to comment on the passage she was reading.

Something kept Crona rooted to the spot unable to move. For several minutes he just stood watching the scene. _He's not going to be hurting anyone anytime soon. You can go._ He told himself.

He somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other and started back toward the elevator. He stopped suddenly when the man from the elevator passed him carrying two cups of coffee. Crona turned to watch him and he saw the man go into Justin's room. Crona walked back over and looked into the room. The man handed a coffee to the woman and they looked with a sad expression at Justin's unconscious form.

"Do you know him?" Crona spun around startled by someone talking so close to him. A young nurse stood with her arms folded over her chest.

Crona shook his head. "N-no, I don't."

"Word is he tried to kill some people who were camping. He's only seventeen. Crazy, right?"

Crona could feel a heaviness constrict around his heart. Justin was only a couple years older than him.

"I overheard the cops talking about it. Apparently, some pedophile guy kidnapped him when he was a kid and brainwashed him or something then made him kill some people."

"What? He- he was kidnapped?"

"Yeah, those are his parents in there with him now."

Crona felt like throwing up. He knew what it was like to be hurt by someone who took care of you. That was probably what Noah had done to Justin. Justin was a victim in all of this too. It was so much easier to just believe he was a monster.

"Holly, get back to work! You're a nurse not a plant. You don't have time to stand around!" another nurse shouted at the nurse talking to Crona.

Holly walked away huffing and muttering complaints about her supervisor, leaving Crona staring at Justin and his parents. As Crona watched them he thought back to the rabbit incident. His mother had told him to kill it and he had. He wondered if Justin had felt the same way killing B.J. A shiver ran through his body.

After that thought Crona turned and left. He was done. He saw Justin and he knew that the young man's story would haunt him. Yet at the moment he just wanted to go home and hug Ms. Marie because she was safe.

* * *

Kid left Sid's office not really feeling better but somehow things didn't look as hopeless as they had before. But he also felt exhausted. Even though he didn't share much with Sid, consciously keeping everything so close to his chest and some things the psychiatrist had told him took an emotional toll on him.

Kid rubbed his eyes wearily as he walked back out to the lobby where his dad was waiting for him. "Kid?" He looked up and saw Maka leaning on her crutches.

"Maka," he said breathlessly. "What are you doing here?"

"I have an appointment with Stein." Maka looked hard at him. Her gaze wasn't harsh. It was more like that of a doctor studiously searching for injuries on a patient. Kid didn't like it.

He walked quickly to pass her. "My dad's waiting for me," he said sharply.

As he passed her Maka's hand shot out and grasped his wrist letting her crutch clatter on the tile floor. "Kid, wait."

A flash of memory hit Kid like a truck. _Noah was above him pinning his wrists above his head…_ He tore his arm away from Maka. "Don't touch me!" he yelled.

Maka stared at him, a concerned frown on her face mixed with hurt. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely in a soft voice.

Kid swallowed hard. Embarrassment made his throat feel thick and he didn't trust his voice. He nodded stiffly in acknowledgement of her apology. It wasn't her fault. He knew that. He was angry with himself for letting something so small get such a dramatic reaction out of him.

An office door opened and Sid poked his head out. "Is everything okay out here?" he asked.

Maka looked to Kid. "I don't know-"

"We're fine," Kid croaked. He turned away from them and escaped out to the lobby.

Sid picked up Maka's crutch and handed it to her. "Thanks."

"No problem. What happened?" Sid asked.

Maka shook her head. "I- I don't really know. I grabbed his hand and he got upset. I should've been more careful. I can't do anything right lately."

"I don't believe that's what it is, Maka. Sometimes things are out of our control and it seems that way."

"He broke up with me."

The way Sid looked at Maka it was easy to tell that he was unsurprised but he was also sympathetic. "Sometimes after a traumatic event people will push their loved ones away. Just let him know that you are there for him and give him his space. And know that it is not your fault."

Maka nodded. "I should go. I have an appointment with Stein."

* * *

Kid walked out to the car rubbing his wrist where Maka had grabbed him. He felt his stomach tying itself up in guilty knots. He should know that Maka wasn't going to hurt him but that memory of Noah overtook that knowledge. _Why did I have to run into her?_

"Did your appointment go well?" his dad asked trying to sound casual.

Kid nodded. "It was fine."

"Good, good."

They got to the car and Mickey opened their doors for them. As Kid thought more about his encounter with Maka on the way home he started tapping. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…_ But it wasn't working to calm him down any. He started running his hands along the seat and the armrest trying to find something to ground him. Finally, he found a little compartment in the door that he started flipping open and shut. _Open, shut, open, shut, open, shut, open, shut…_

"Kiddo, what are you doing?" his dad sounded concerned.

"Nothing." Something else caught Kid's eye. His shoelaces were a horrible mess. The ends of the laces were different lengths. How could he have gone out in public like that? He leaned down to fix them right away.

"What are you doing now?" his dad asked again gently.

"The laces are different lengths and I need to fix them. They are an asymmetrical mess." Kid could hear the desperate tone in his own voice. It made him cringe inwardly.

Suddenly, a comforting hand was rubbing his upper back. "It's okay, Kiddo."

Kid's hands shook as he fixed his laces, untying and retying them again and again. He knew he was starting to fall back into old habits. His OCD had finally become manageable and he could feel the stress unravelling the progress he had made. It scared him and yet it was comforting to have the familiarity of it. These routines and habits, symmetry itself, it was all something that he had always had. And even if he lost Maka or anyone else it would always be there.


	9. Chapter 9: We All Fall Down

A/N: I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update. I had several different family events in a row, plus final projects for school, and finals coming up quickly. I have part of the next chapter written but I have finals the next couple of weeks so I don't know how soon it will be posted. Thank you all for being patient!

Chapter 9: We All Fall Down

Liz sat down on the bed of the familiar room she had hoped to never see again. It had been a few weeks since the camping trip that had turned all of their lives upside down. Now she was back at the mental hospital. It had broken her heart when her grandmother had sat her down and with tears in her eyes told her that it might be best to go back to the mental hospital for a little while. Liz hadn't argued. She already knew that she breaking down mentally.

Liz blamed herself for a lot of what happened. Maybe if she had just gone with Kid when he left the group during their hike. Then there was that moment when Ms. Marie was being attacked by Justin. She had been a coward. During the whole incident she had been useless.

She curled up on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest. The whole thing had only revealed that she was a terrible friend and a coward. She didn't want to be awake to think about it anymore. Dwelling on her shortcomings was too painful. Liz closed her eyes and went to sleep hoping that it would be Patty who would wake up.

* * *

Maka was supposed to go back to school two days ago, but as soon as she said that she wasn't ready her dad called the school to tell them she needed a few more days. In fact none of them had gone back to school yet. Crona, who Maka thought had gone back to school, had changed his mind. Then she found out that Liz was back in the mental hospital. Was that what would happen to all of them eventually?

Maka sat in the bathtub thinking about it. Her cast was wrapped up in a plastic bag, leg propped up on the side of the bathtub. Usually, a bath helped her feel better but this time it ended up not being worth the effort. She only regretted going through all the trouble for nothing.

After her bath she came out of her room wearing an old hoodie and sweatpants to see Soul sitting on the couch. "What are you doing here?" she asked trying to sound pleasantly surprised. It ended up coming out sounding exhausted.

Soul got up and grinned at her. "I'm taking you out," he announced.

"I don't think I'm up for going out." Maka used her crutches to get herself to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took out a bottle of juice. She tried to close the fridge but almost fell over in the process. Soul caught her and helped her pour a glass of juice.

"We're not going anywhere fancy. I'm taking you to go see a movie," he informed her as he handed her the full glass.

Maka sighed. "I don't think my dad would want-"

"Your dad said he thought it was a good idea."

Maka grumbled under her breath and took a sip of her drink. The one time she needed her dad to be annoyingly overprotective he let her down. "Fine," she finally relented. "I guess I should go change."

Soul was driving when he suddenly turned into the parking lot of a park. The overcast weather ensured that no one was around.

"This isn't a movie theatre," Maka stated grumpily.

Soul turned off the engine and turned to her with a devious grin. "I thought you could use some fresh air."

"Why are you being like this?" She slumped in her seat and glared over at him.

"Come on," Soul said ignoring her question.

They got out of the car and he helped her over the woodchips to the swings. A part of Maka wanted to fight him but she resignedly allowed Soul to sit her on one of the swings. He moved behind her and started gently pushing her.

"This is stupid," Maka mumbled.

Soul pushed her a little harder. "Hey, swings are cool." They were silent for a few minutes before Soul spoke again. "Your dad is worried about you, Maka. He said that you've been more distant than usual."

Maka struggled to stop the swing so she could get up and walk away. She was done humoring her friend. Her broken ankle made her escape more difficult than she had anticipated. "My dad doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Fine. Then I'm worried about you. You all came back different from that camping trip. And I get it, bad things went down. But if you don't tell me what's going on in your head how can I help you?"

"It's nothing I can't handle. If I want help then I'll ask."

Soul huffed in frustration. There was silence for a moment before he blurted out. "Your dad is afraid you are going to try to kill yourself again."

Maka felt her whole body go stiff. She put both feet down to stop the swing even though it hurt her ankle nearly as much as it had when Gopher had broken it. "That isn't fair, Soul."

Soul came around and looked closely at her. "If you can look me in the eye and tell me truthfully that there is nothing for us to be concerned about then we can go to the movie and then I will take you home and tell your dad not to worry."

Maka opened her mouth to lie. She was planning on keeping her poker face in place and lying through her teeth. Then she looked in his eyes and saw it. He was afraid. He was afraid that she would lie to him. She opened her mouth and the truth came tumbling out. "Kid broke up with me."

She ended up telling Soul everything. She told him about what happened on the camping trip, when Kid broke up with her, and then their interaction on the way to her therapy appointment.

"Something happened to him," Maka said at the end. "And all I do is make it worse. I keep screwing up, but I want to be there for him. I'm starting to think maybe he's better off without me."

Soul had sat down on the swing next to her. He was glaring off in the distance. "No one is better off without you, Maka. Never think that."

"I liked being with Kid. I was… I was happy with him." She felt tears building in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She didn't want to be weak in front of Soul. The vulnerability she had already showed him was more than enough to last a lifetime.

"I'm sure soon enough he'll realize how stupid he was for breaking up with you. 'Cause let's be honest, Maka, you are a pretty cool person."

Maka forced a smile at Soul's words. "I just want him to be okay."

She moved to stand and Soul jumped up to get her crutches for her. They made their way back to the car in silence. Maka was rehashing Soul's words in her head: _"Your dad is afraid you are going to try to kill yourself again."_ It was painful to think that people around her feared that she might do something like that. But it wasn't like she hadn't tried before. Her stomach churned when she thought of how her dad had looked at her after the first time she tried. Her father had done things that hurt both her and her mother, especially with being frequently unfaithful, but he loved Maka. She knew that he didn't deserve the pain she had put him through.

Then she thought about Soul, Crona, all of her friends, she never wanted to do that to them. But then her mind drifted back to Kid. Would he care if she tried again?

"Do you still want to see a movie?" Maka shook herself when she heard Soul's question. They were suddenly sitting in his car, ready to leave.

She nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice." Right now it sounded like a distraction would be the best thing.

* * *

In a dingy motel room Noah sat at a tiny unevenly footed desk. A trashcan sat beside it overflowing with crumpled pieces of paper with half written letters to Kid. Noah tried to put what he was feeling on paper but none of it was coming out how he intended. He regretted what he had done to Kid. He had been too eager, too greedy. He had tarnished their relationship and soiled the pure image of perfection that his special boy had been. No apology letter even came close to what he wanted to convey. Maybe if he could speak to Kid in person…

Arms wrapped around Noah from behind and lips pressed against his neck. For a moment he wanted to pretend it was Kid. Kisses travelled upward to his ear. "Come to bed," Gopher whined, ruining his short-lived fantasy.

Noah pushed the arms away. "Leave me alone."

"You're still obsessed with him. I thought that once you got him out of your system this would be over." Gopher's voice was shaking with anger and hurt.

Noah stood and turned to face Gopher with a dark expression on his face. "I love him. It won't be over until I have him."

"Why can't you love me!" Gopher wailed.

Noah punched him hard and Gopher fell to the floor with the force of it. "You aren't special. Try as you might you will never be special. So stop whining like a toddler and accept your place."

Gopher got to his feet and nodded. "Yes, Noah," he said while staring at the floor, his whole body trembling.

"I should've gotten rid of you a long time ago," Noah muttered as he sat back down at the desk.

* * *

Mr. Grim had been sound asleep when he heard his bedroom door open. He sat up and squinted in the dim light. The three white lines stood out against the darkness. "Kid, what are you doing up?"

"It's nothing," his son replied shakily after a long moment. "I'm sorry. I'll go back to bed."

"Wait. There's nothing to be sorry for. You came here for a reason so what is it?" Mr. Grim got out of bed and approached his son carefully. When he slowly put his hand on Kid's shoulder he felt his body trembling.

"I- I woke up from a nightmare and…" Kid trailed off his eyes growing distant.

Mr. Grim swallowed hard. "What happened?"

"I thought- I thought I saw Noah… in my room."

Mr. Grim felt his heart speed up in a panic. "I'll call the police."

"No, dad! It- I think it was just in my head." Kid was looking away but his father could see the sheen of tears threatening to fall.

"Are you sure?" he asked as calmly as he could manage.

"Yeah… I should go back to bed."

"Do you want to sleep in here?"

Kid looked at his dad's bed as if he was seriously considering it for a moment. Then he shook his head and left the room.

Mr. Grim let out a shaky breath as he sat down on the edge of his bed. He was scared for his son and he didn't know what to do. "Dammit, Noah. Why did you do this to him?" he muttered.


	10. Chapter 10: Rock Bottom

Chapter 10: Rock Bottom

Kid felt like he would completely lose his mind if he had to sit around the house for one more day. His dad wouldn't let him go out by himself because Noah was still out there. A part of him was starting to want to go back to school, but that presented its own set of problems. That meant that he might run into Maka if she was back at school. He didn't know where she was with her recovery from the camping trip. Guilt seeped in at that thought. His heart ached knowing that he had been ignoring his friends. He had no idea how any of them were coping. He was afraid to ask how they were. What if they were worse off than him?

That thought process left Kid locked in a cycle of cleaning every inch of the mansion. If he didn't keep his mind busy he did not know where it could go. He measured and rearranged the furniture until it was all equal distances from each other, then measured the painting and photographs on the walls making sure they were even, but no matter how hard he tried nothing was perfect.

Kid worked himself into such a frenzy that he was near beating his head against a wall. He took a deep breath and meticulously took down every painting, photograph, and wall decoration in the mansion. Then worked through putting them all back up. When he had finished he measured them once more only to find that none of them were perfectly aligned. They were all minutely off. No one else would notice it, but he would know that his work was imperfect. It would haunt him.

Kid leaned back against the wall in the upstairs hallway and slid to the floor. Nothing was perfect, because he wasn't perfect. Tears collected in his eyes. "I'm nothing but trash," he muttered to himself.

The sound of the front door opening signaling his father's arrival caused the tears in his eyes to spill over. He was ashamed of his imperfections. He felt exposed and raw like the whole world would finally him for what he really was. His father would see that he was damaged and look at him with disgust instead of love. _Damaged…_ He paused when he realized the curious shift in his train of thought from imperfect to damaged. That was what he was after Noah had gotten ahold of him. Even if he couldn't completely remember what happened he knew it was bad enough that he was blocking it out.

As he heard his dad coming up the stairs Kid scrambled to his feet. He did his best to wipe away the tears on his face. Unsure what to do with his arms he ended up hugging himself as if he was trying to hold himself together.

"Hey, Kid," his dad greeted. "I see that you've been cleaning." His voice sounded cautious, like he was unsure whether it was a bad thing or a good thing.

Kid nodded. "Yeah, I needed something to do. I've been a bit bored."

His dad cleared his throat and seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking. "Well, I can't send you back to school until you start taking the medication Dr. Barrett prescribed."

Kid sighed. This had been a recent conflict between him and his father. He was already averse to taking medications but after being drugged while in the hospital he couldn't bring himself to take anything. "Dad, you know that I can't, not after-"

His dad sighed. "You know Dr. Barrett is trustworthy, Kiddo. If you would just try it… I'm sure it will help you and if it doesn't Dr. Barrett can give you something else."

Kid was horrified to feel frustrated tears returning to his eyes. He tried to look down to hide it but gravity only caused the tears to spill over faster. "Dammit," he muttered as he tried to wipe them away. He hated wearing his emotions so openly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pressure you. You don't have to take it if you aren't ready." His dad pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him.

"I can't stay in the house all the time, dad. I feel like I'm only getting worse staying cooped up here."

His dad glanced around with a frown seeming to read the situation from the preciseness of the contents of their home. "I know. I don't know what we can do though."

"I think… I think I want to go back to school." His dad opened his mouth to protest but Kid cut him off. "Let me prove to you that I can handle it."

His dad crossed his arms over his chest. "How?"

Kid tried to think quickly. After saying it out loud he suddenly realized how much this meant to him. Maybe if he could go back to school he could forget that anything with Noah ever happened. Maybe going back to everyday routine could eventually erase it. Coming home hadn't worked but maybe at school where no one knew exactly what happened _would_ work.

"You have that charity event tomorrow," Kid started slowly. "I could go with you and if I can show you that I can handle it you let me go back to school."

"I don't know," his dad replied hesitantly. "I wouldn't feel comfortable taking you to such a high profile event. A lot of people are going to be there. It could be stressful for you."

Kid swallowed hard. He knew his dad was right. Just talking about it was causing him anxiety, but he couldn't stay in his house one more day. "Which is why it would be a perfect test to see if I'm ready to go back to school."

"Okay, we can try it, but Mickey is going to be there with the car ready to take you home at the first sign of trouble."

* * *

A part of Kid knew this was a bad idea as soon as they got there. A large, fancy hotel loomed in front of him. He was hesitant about going in but as soon as his dad gave him a questioning look he started forward toward the doors. They were escorted to a large event room where everyone was socializing before the start of the speeches about the charity everyone was there to support.

The sounds of all the simultaneous conversations blended together into one loud roar. He took several deep breaths and his dad turned to him with a concerned expression. Kid looked away before he could meet his eyes.

The night wore on and Kid actually made it through the speeches. Apparently this was all for an organization that wanted to save manatees. Afterward there was more socializing.

"You have done more than prove yourself capable of going back to school," his dad said in a low voice. "I can have Mickey take you home now if you want."

Kid shook his head. "I'm fine." This was all or nothing to him. He wasn't about to give up when he already made it this far.

Ten more minutes passed and several people had come over to talk to his father at once. He did his best to back off so that he didn't feel so cornered. The open bar was nearby so he walked over to see if he could get some water.

"Can I get some water, please?"

"Of course."

As the bar tender got him a glass of water Kid overheard a man who had had too much to drink attempting to hit on a young woman. Kid rolled his eyes at the man's pathetic attempts to impress the woman.

"I own a chain of four star restaurants," the man slurred.

The young woman wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I already told you I'm married. Now move, you're in my way and I want to get a martini."

The bartender handed Kid his water and he took a sip.

"How about I buy you're drink for you?" The man reached out to touch her arm but missed spectacularly and instead brushed her breast. Kid nearly spit out his water at the scene.

The woman gasped in horror but she recovered from her shock quickly. She shoved the drunk man away hard. "Get away from me you pervert!"

The man stumbled backward and reached out to catch himself. One hand landed on the barstool next to Kid, the other grasped at Kid's thigh. Kid leapt from his seat pushing the invading hand away.

"Sorry," the man slurred patting Kid's shoulder.

Kid pushed the man away again. He was shaking, trying to keep ahold of his composure. Flashes of Noah had started to bombard him. If he had a second to breathe maybe he could make it through. He needed to find his dad.

He spotted his father in the crowd and started toward him. His breathing was heavy and people were brushing past him. The small bumps and brushes that were commonplace had suddenly become overwhelming. He was going to suffocate from this crowd of people. Panic took control of his legs and he ran out the nearby doors into the hall.

When he burst out of the room he stumbled and fell onto all fours. His mind was still reeling. The flashes of Noah had started to become more constant and put together like a stream of memory. His fingers dug into the carpet, searching for some way to anchor himself.

Kid looked up trying to find something to focus on. His vision swam and his surrounding started to shift slightly. Suddenly he was in the hotel where this whole thing with Noah had begun. He was outside the banquet hall, Noah looming over him, telling him how special he is.

"Stop it," Kid tried to tell himself firmly. Instead it came out shaky and weak. He sat up and shook his head, attempting to dispel the vivid memory from his mind. He tried to get to his feet but had to grab onto the wall for support.

Something in the corner of Kid's vision caught his eye. He jerked his head to look and saw Noah watching him with a lazy smile on his face. Knees going weak, Kid sunk to the ground again and put his face in his hands. Was it real? He couldn't tell if that was really Noah or not.

When Kid looked up again he wasn't at a hotel, instead he was back in the cabin. Memories came flooding back and he remembered what he had been trying so hard to forget.

* * *

Mr. Grim was very worried. He couldn't find Kid anywhere. His son wasn't answering his phone. He tried to ask around but everyone was too distracted to notice anything. He had called Mickey but the driver had not heard from his son. Things were looking very bad.

Mr. Grim had made his way through the crowd asking about Kid and had made it to the bar. "Have you seen my son?" he asked the bartender wearily.

The bartender shrugged. "What does he look like?"

"He's fifteen, he has black hair with three white lines on one side of his head."

The bartender nodded. "Yeah, I saw him. He ran out of here a few minutes ago."

Mr. Grim didn't even take the time to thank the bartender. He ran out hoping to find his son only went out to get some fresh air.

He made his way all the way to the lobby seeing no sign of his son. He walked over to the front desk. "I'm looking for my son. He was at a charity event with me and now I can't find him. Did you see him come out here? He's a teenager and he was black hair with three white lines on one side of his head."

The woman frowned in thought. "I think so. Let me check the security cameras." She tapped away at her computer for a moment then turned the monitor so Mr. Grim could see. "Yes, there he is leaving."

The image was not very clear but it definitely showed Kid leaving the hotel. "How long ago was this?" he asked harshly.

"About seven minutes ago."

Mr. Grim ran out of the lobby and looked around feeling lost. There was no sign of Kid anywhere. Seven minutes had never felt like such a long time before.


	11. Chapter 11: When You're Lost

Chapter 11: When You're Lost

Maka sat with Crona and Soul. All three of them were watching their cell phones that were laid out on the coffee table in front of them. Maka's dad and Ms. Marie had gone down to the hotel to help Kid's dad and the police look for Kid. The three of them had been told to stay at Maka's house in case Kid showed up. They were told to call if that happened or if he called them.

"I don't think I could handle it if something happened to Kid," Crona said quietly.

Maka nodded. "I don't think I could handle it either."

Soul reached out and wordlessly grabbed Maka's hand. She squeezed his hand gratefully.

"What was he thinking?" Maka asked no one in particular. "Why would he just leave like that?"

Soul shrugged. "Why was it that a year ago I got angry and shoved two pianos off of my school's piano room balcony? Why do you get depressed? Why does Crona listen when Ragnarok tells him he's not allowed to eat? We all have moments that our minds turn against us. Maybe this was one of those times for Kid."

The three of them sat in silence thinking about Soul's words. They all jumped when Maka's phone rang. She reached to grab it so quickly she knocked it off of the table. Soul's hand shot out and he caught it. He handed back to her and Maka took it with shaking hands.

She glanced at the caller ID. "It's my dad," she whispered to Crona and Soul as she answered it. "Is there any news about Kid?" she asked as soon as she took the call.

"Yeah, we found him," Spirit replied in a sigh.

"Is he okay? Where was he?"

Her dad hesitated to answer causing Maka to say in a more urgent voice. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"He's at the mental hospital. Apparently, he checked himself back in."

"I need to go see him," Maka said calmly. "I'll have Soul drive me over."

"Maka, it's late. You aren't going to be allowed to visit with him."

"Then I'll go first thing in the morning."

Spirit let out a slow breath that could be heard through the phone. "I think that he probably needs some time before he starts having visitors."

"He's had time," Maka said her voice rising. "I've given him space and time and this is what happened. Maybe if we didn't just ignore him and we actually showed him that we care about him he wouldn't be back in that place!"

"Maka," the voice didn't come from the phone. A gentle hand was on her harm and she turned to see it belonged to Crona. "It's okay. He has help in the hospital. He won't be alone."

Maka shoved the phone at Soul and let Crona pull her into a hug. She could hear Soul talking to her dad but she didn't pay attention to what he was saying. "What if this is my fault?" Maka asked softly.

Crona held her a bit tighter. "How could it be your fault?"

"What if I pushed too hard when I should have? Or what if I wasn't there for him when I should have been?"

"Maka, there is no way you could have known what would be the perfect thing to do at the perfect time. Ms. Marie told me that if you keep asking 'what ifs' then you are never going to move forward. And that's what we have to do: move forward."

Maka nodded. "Yeah, I guess," she agreed, but to her this whole thing was one big mess. Right now she couldn't really see how any of them could move forward.

* * *

Kid had been there three days and he only left his room for therapy sessions. He sat across from Sid in on the small sofa in his office. His knees were pulled up to his chest, chin resting on top of his knees.

"Is the medication helping with your panic attacks?" Sid asked.

Kid shrugged. "A little."

"Okay, good. We'll give it a little more time and see then if we need to change it." Sid flipped open his notebook and glanced at his notes. "Do you want to pick up where we left off last time?"

Kid looked away and hugged his knees a bit tighter. "Okay."

"We were talking about Noah," Sid prodded carefully.

"Yeah, we were talking about what I remembered," Kid said slowly. "I remembered that he raped me." A deep frown pushed his eyebrows together. "How did I not remember that happened?"

"Sometimes when a traumatizing event occurs our minds will block it out because we aren't able to deal with it."

"I wish I hadn't remembered."

Sid sighed. "Blocking it out doesn't make it so that the trauma didn't happen. Even if you didn't remember your mind still knew something happened."

"I know," Kid said wearily.

"Can you tell me what you're feeling right now?"

Kid lowered his head so that his forehead was now against his knees. "Depressed, ashamed, angry…"

"What or who are you angry at?"

"Myself, Noah, Asura."

Sid had been looking down at his notebook as he took notes but at the listing of Asura's name his head jerked up. "Your brother? Why are you angry at him?"

Kid kept his head down. "Noah told me that he had been friends with Asura when they were teenagers. Asura brought him over to our house. That's the only reason he met me."

Sid had to hold back a curse that slipped to the edge of his tongue. He remembered back when he first met Kid he had thought that the worst the teenager would have to deal with was his OCD. The boy should not have to deal with something like this. He was almost angry with Asura too for introducing someone like Noah into Kid's life.

As Kid walked back to his room after his session he saw Patty and Blackstar playing a board game in the common area. Tsubaki was watching them with an amused smile on her face. He stopped for a moment to watch also.

Tsubaki was the first to notice him. She looked up, smiled, and gave him a small wave. Kid waved back. Blackstar and Patty saw him waving and Blackstar gave an enthusiastic wave with both hands. Patty paused for a moment and then copied Blackstar's wave. Kid could've sworn that he saw Liz in those eyes for a second.

* * *

That night Kid had a nightmare about Noah that woke him up in the middle of the night. He sat up in bed breathing hard, soaked in sweat. For a moment he contemplated trying to go back to sleep but when he closed his eyes for even a second images from his nightmare came flooding back.

He stumbled out of bed and found his way to the light switch. He flipped it on and he blinked in the sudden light. When his eyes adjusted he saw a figure standing on the far side of the room where the shadow had been the darkest. "Y-you're not real," Kid stuttered out.

Noah casually walked toward him. "I heard that your dad put you back in here again. I came to get you. One man's trash is another man's treasure and all that."

"You're not real. It's all in my head."

Noah reached out and put his hands on Kid's shoulders. Kid froze at the touch. Could hallucinations touch you? Noah pulled him closer and leaned in to press his lips against Kid's. Kid lashed out shoving him away so hard Noah stumbled back into the wall with a thump.

"If you touch me again I'll kill you," Kid's voice shook as he spoke but it wasn't from nerves. The trembling was from disgust and anger.

Noah's eyes were wide with shock but then he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened in the cabin. I got a little overenthusiastic. I should have been patient with you. It's just that I look at you and I remember this little boy who I fell in love with."

Kid opened and closed his mouth several times utterly speechless. He didn't know what to say in response to Noah's twisted view of things. "How did you even get in here?"

"It wasn't easy but I'm motivated." Noah approached him again and grabbed his arm. "We should go."

Kid jerked away from him but Noah's grip was so tight he feared in might break his arm. Kid thrashed and yelled. He refused to go with Noah quietly. It didn't take long to hear the other patients waking up and the night shift nurses coming to check on them.

Noah dragged Kid along to exit the ward. The more Kid fought the more frustrated Noah got. Until finally Noah violently grabbed Kid by his shoulders and shook him hard. "Can't you see I'm trying to help you?"

"Are you really delusional enough to believe that's what you're doing?"

Kid swallowed hard regretting his words when he saw the usually cool and collected Noah's face twist with rage. "You ungrateful little shit!" Noah threw Kid hard to the ground but the edge of a table caught the side of his head. Kid's vision went fuzzy and then went black.

* * *

Liz woke when she heard yells coming from somewhere outside of her room. She sat up in bed listening. There was a crash and Liz tensed up. A part of her told her to stay here and hide under the covers like a small child. But then she remembered how cowardly she had been on the camping trip, leaving Crona to save Ms. Marie.

Liz climbed out of bed and peeked out into the hall. She could hear the commotion coming from the common area. Carefully, she stepped out and walked down to the mouth of the hallway. A small crowd of patients and nurses had gathered there. Liz was tall enough to see over most of them and saw Kid sprawled on the floor. Blood was trickling down the side of his head and pooling on the carpet.

"Who called the cops?" Liz turned to see the man she recognized from the news as Noah Eibon standing near a window. He walked quickly to the center of the room and pointed a gun at the patients and nurses. "Toss your phones here." He gestured with his gun at a nearby trashcan. The nurses glanced at each other and reluctantly obeyed.

Liz could feel a white fog coming over her. It was a signal that she was retreating and soon Patty would take over. _No, I can't. I have to stay for Kid. I have to help him no matter how scared I am._

Nurse Thalia moved toward Kid and Noah pointed the gun at her. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

The nurse gestured to Kid. "Let me check on the boy. He's obviously hurt."

Noah looked at her suspiciously. "No. Not you." He glanced around at the patients and then pointed at Liz. "You can go to him. Make sure he's still breathing."

Liz felt her breath hitch. She stepped past the nurses and other patients. She sat on the floor beside Kid, afraid to touch him for fear of hurting him more than he already was. She gently placed a hand on his chest. When it moved up and then down, inhaling and exhaling, her shoulders slumped in relief.

* * *

Sound went in and out like someone was turning up and down the volume on a radio. Kid wanted to make whoever was doing that stop. It was giving him a headache. People were yelling and sobbing. Muted chaos was around him but he couldn't open his eyes to see it. A loud roar was coming from somewhere and he knew it was a familiar sound. He just couldn't quite place it.

Someone was moving him. The soft jostling made him feel queasy. He tried to protest the movement but all that came out was a low whine. The movement stopped and now his head was resting on something soft. "Kid, please wake up." It was Liz's voice.

"Don't talk to him!" Noah's voice yelled. "I said you could check on him, but don't talk to him."

Kid tried to open his eyes but they stayed firmly shut. Fingers were brushing over his hand. He was able to weakly grasp at them and held onto Liz's hand. She breathed in sharply in a quiet gasp. She held his hand tighter than he was able to.

The sharp sound of a ringing phone increased the pain of Kid's headache.

"Hello," Noah answered the phone. "My only demand is that you let Kid and I leave without any interference… Then I guess we have nothing more to talk about." There was the sound of plastic cracking. Noah must've broken the phone. "I should've told them to get that damn helicopter out of here," he said a bit regretfully.

That was what the roar was. It was a helicopter.

"Please point that gun somewhere other than at my patients," Nurse Thalia's voice was firm, not an ounce of fear evident.

Kid was finally able to open his eyes at the mention of a gun. Most of the patients were in a group near the hall that led to the rooms. Nurse Thalia and a couple of other nurses were doing their best to keep the teens calm. Noah looked truly deranged now. Sweat was rolling down his temples. A gun was held tightly in his hand as he paced back and forth from the windows to his captives.

Kid struggled to sit up right. Liz helped him but at the same time told him. "You should stay laying down."

His stomach churned at the movement but was able to stay sitting up. He was sitting on the ground with Liz. He realized that his head had been resting in her lap.

"I'll go with you," Kid announced hoarsely. "As long as you promise not to hurt anybody."

Noah turned to him looking surprised. "Really?"

"Yes. We can leave right now if you promise not to hurt anyone."

"Kid, no! You can't go with him!" Liz protested.

Noah ignored her and walked over to pull Kid to his feet. Kid swayed and had to grab onto the older man to keep his balance. Noah looked quite satisfied as he helped Kid to the door that led out of the ward.

"I won't let you take him!" Kid turned back to see Blackstar struggling against the nurses and a couple of patients. "Come back here, you asshole! Are you afraid to fight me?"

Noah turned around Kid still clinging to him to stay upright. The older man laughed when he got a good look at Blackstar. "You're not worth my time."

There was a loud crash and Noah crumpled to the ground, taking Kid with him. Shattered remains of a lamp littered the floor. Liz stood over them looking a bit shocked at what she had done. Her eyes were wide and her hands were still frozen in the air as if the lamp were still in her hands.

When she saw Kid starting to struggle against Noah's weight that had fallen on him she mentally shook herself and lowered her hands to carefully pull Kid to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. Thank you, Liz." Kid looked down at Noah's unconscious body unsure if the dizzy feeling in his head was from the concussion he most likely had or the relief that it was finally over.

Nurse Thalia rushed forward and led them away from Noah. She turned to another nurse telling her to retrieve her cell phone and call out to the police to let them know Noah was down. After that things happened quickly. Kid's head injury made it difficult for him to keep up. Police rushed in and secured Noah who had just started to stir. Then there was an ambulance and Kid was taken once more to the hospital to treat his concussion. His dad was there and Kid was struck again by how old and weary he looked.

He stayed for the night and the next day Kid was laying in the hospital bed waiting to be discharged. The TV was on a random channel while he got dressed in preparation to leave. The show he wasn't paying attention to went to commercial and started playing a preview for the evening news.

"Tonight: Noah Eibon has been captured and arrested. Tune in this evening for an exclusive interview with the arresting officer." A clip of Noah being put into a police car played on the screen. Kid paused in the process of putting on his socks as he watched the five second clip. His breath hitched as he thought of how he had almost gone with him. He had to remind himself that it was really over. Noah was in prison and he couldn't let the man have control of his thoughts anymore. He was free and Noah wasn't.


	12. Chapter 12: Here I Am

A/N: So this is the final chapter. I've had mixed feeling about this story. The heavy subject matter of this story was kind of difficult for me to write. I appreciate everyone who read this story while I was posting it or reads it in the future. I hope that it lived up to your expectations. I would appreciate any reviews. I've always had a difficult time writing endings so feedback would be welcome.

Chapter 12: Here I Am

The nurse had told him that Liz was outside in the garden. Kid adjusted the visitors' badge clipped to his shirt and went in search of his friend. She was sitting on the bench where they had first met, her long blonde hair was down reassuring him he would be talking to Liz. She was writing in a journal, mouthing words as she wrote them down on the page.

Kid sat down next to her and waited for her to finish jotting down her thought. She looked up at him and gave him a strained smile. "Hi there," she greeted casually.

"Hi, Liz. How are you doing?" From a glance down at her journal he noticed that her usually neat penmanship was shaky and jagged.

Liz shrugged as she closed her journal. "Taking it slow. I still have nightmares about Justin, but I'm told that's _a normal symptom of PTSD_." The last few words Kid had said in unison with her.

He nodded his head knowingly. "I've been having nightmares too; about Noah."

Liz chewed on her lip as she glanced at him and then away. "Sometimes I have nightmares about you."

Kid felt like the air had been knocked out of him. He turned his body to fully face her. "Why me? What did I do?"

Her eyes widened when she realized that he had misunderstood. "Not like that. I mean I have nightmares about you being taken or hurt." She paused for a moment and swallowed hard. She was wringing her hands the way Crona did when he was upset. "It was my fault Noah took you. I'm sorry, Kid."

Kid took her hands in his stopping her repetitive movements. "Why would you say that, Liz? That makes no sense. You didn't do anything."

"Exactly, when you backtracked I didn't go with you and I should have."

He breathed out heavily but it wasn't quite a sigh. It broke his heart that his friend thought she was somehow responsible for his pain. "If you had gone with me Noah might have hurt you. It was better that you weren't there. Please, do not take the blame for this when it rightfully belongs to Noah."

Tears started to stream down Liz's face. Sobs burst past her lips in little bubbling sounds. Kid hugged her closely and she buried her face in his shoulder. He felt the wetness of her tears soaking through his shirt and although he felt for his friend a shiver went down his spine at the thought of the mess she was making. For a split second he considered shifting her to the other shoulder so that at least it would be a symmetrical mess. The thought was quickly dispelled at her renewed sobs as she clung to him.

"Why am I… such a coward? I let you go by yourself… and I couldn't help to…. protect Ms. Marie… Why am I so… useless?" Liz said between sobs.

"You aren't useless," Kid told her sincerely. "You've been through a lot, Liz. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Ms. Marie wouldn't have wanted you to put yourself in danger."

Liz's sobs slowly quieted but he still held her tightly. He didn't want her to think for a second that he didn't want to be there comforting her. Kid knew that he'd been neglecting his friends recently and he wanted to make up for that.

It was several more minutes before Liz pulled away, wiping her eyes, and looking a little embarrassed. Kid pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. As she wiped her eyes she muttered something about how only rich kids had handkerchiefs. He couldn't help but shake his head at her observation.

"Do you know when you'll be getting out of here?" Kid asked carefully.

Liz shrugged. "Not really. I have an evaluation next week but it's no guarantee."

Kid could tell that although she tried to sound nonchalant that she was hopeful. "Would you like me to be here for you after the evaluation?" Visiting once wasn't going to make up for his recent absence. He had to fully commit to being a good friend and be there for her whenever she needed him.

"I would like that." Liz let out a breath of what sounded like relief. This reassured Kid that he was headed in the right direction.

* * *

Maka had heard about the incident but couldn't really believe it. She sat in her room at her computer and looked up the news clip. A reporter was in front of the camera talking about the case of Noah Eibon. Behind her Noah was being led up the courthouse steps. A figure that Maka recognized as Gopher quickly approached pushing through the crowd of reporters and onlookers. He pulled out a gun causing the crowd to panic. In the chaos he shot Noah in the head then himself.

It all happened so fast Maka had to play the clip again to be sure of what she saw. She was relieved that Noah was gone for good and that Kid would not have to go through the long drawn out court case. Yet a part of her felt pity for Gopher. He had also been one of Noah's victims. He had been brainwashed and manipulated into doing the things he had done.

She was trying to sort out her conflicted feelings when there was a knock on her door. "Maka, honey," her dad called. She rolled her eyes at the term of endearment. "Kid is here to see you."

Maka closed the video and got up, careful of her newly healed and cast-less leg. She opened the door and her dad stood there looking concerned.

"Do you want to talk to him or do you want-"

"I want to talk to him," Maka replied before her dad could finish his question.

Her dad nodded in understanding. "I'll be in the den if you need me. We can make up a code word or a signal if you want."

Maka laughed nervously. "No, that's okay."

"Alright." As he walked away Maka almost wanted to call him back to keep talking so she wouldn't have to go face Kid. She had no idea what he was there for. There were too many unknowns.

Kid sat in the living room waiting for Maka. He reached over and started to organize the books on the coffee table. He had planned in advance what he was going to say to Maka but now that he was there the words seemed ill-chosen. A part of him wanted to leave now before he saw her. Fortunately, the rational part of his brain made him stay.

"Hi, Kid."

His head jerked up from his task of book organizing and he saw that Maka had entered the room. Panic rose in his chest and his breath caught in his throat. He felt guilty sitting in front of her. He had shut her out and never gave her any reason for it. Apologies bubbled up but got tangled and dissipated on his tongue. "Hi," was all he could manage.

Maka sat down on the opposite side of the couch. It felt like there was a canyon between them and even though he wanted to leap over it he knew that for both of them he would have to carefully and slowly build a bridge over it. Silence grew between them as they waited for the other one to speak first.

"I'm sorry," Kid said finally in a small voice.

Maka turned to him with a confused frown. "Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry for pushing you away. I guess I was still too raw and I…" It was harder than he thought it be would to open up to her. All of his instincts were telling him to put the wall back up, but he barreled forward hoping that it would be worth it. "I didn't feel worthy to be close to you anymore. I'm not the same person who was your boyfriend."

She moved closer and Kid had to look away. "Kid, none of us are the same people we were before the trip. But no matter what happened there you're still worth just as much as before."

Kid shook his head. She wasn't understanding. "Maka, Noah…he… he raped me." His voice broke as he said the words. Shame colored his cheeks and tears stung his eyes. This was it. She would try to be kind. Maybe she would even still want to be his friend but they would never go back to being boyfriend and girlfriend. He couldn't blame her.

A hesitant hand reached out for his. When he didn't pull away she gripped his hand tightly. He looked from their intertwined hands up to her face. Tears had started to roll down her cheeks. He felt guilty for making her cry. It hadn't been his intention to make her feel bad for him. "Is that why you broke up with me?" she asked slowly.

"I think so," _Even though I didn't know it at the time._

"I'm here for you," she stated with determination. "I've always been here for you, because I love you. And you let me know when and if you want to start our relationship again. I'll wait."

Kid squeezed Maka's hand as tried to hold back his tears. Could this really be happening? She was actually willing to wait for him. "I don't know when I'll be ready," he warned. "It could be a while."

"Then I'll be your friend right now, if that's what you need."

* * *

Six months later…

Kid stood on Maka's front porch, his hand poised before the doorbell. This was his first date with Maka since the camping trip. Somehow he was even more nervous than he had been on their first date. Everything was different now and he was afraid that she would decide they were better as friends. She had waited so patiently and he didn't want to let her down.

He mustered whatever courage he had and pushed the doorbell hard before he could change his mind. He flinched at the muffled sound of _ding-dong_ that could be heard behind the door. A few seconds passed before the door opened to reveal Maka's father. Kid braced himself for the lecture that usually preceded all of his dates with Maka. But it never came. Spirit merely frowned, then stepped aside for Kid to enter. "She's just finishing getting ready. You can have a seat while you wait."

Kid watched him closely, wondering when it would come: the usual "if you hurt my daughter…" speech. Instead all he saw was Spirit screwing up his face in such a way that made him look constipated. In fact, it was a bit comical. Trying hard not to laugh took his mind off of his nervousness for the moment. Strangely enough it was what he needed.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Kid turned to see Maka walk out into the hallway. She was wearing a flowy, blue dress that came down to just above her knees. His breath hitched when he saw her and suddenly he felt even more unworthy than before. He couldn't help but think that she deserved someone better.

Kid got to his feet and she greeted him with a hug. "It wasn't long at all," he assured her.

"Let's get going."

Maka seemed cautiously excited as they left the house. She was practically bouncing out the door, but he could tell she was restraining it best she could. Kid started tapping his fingers against his thighs as they walked to the car. _One, two, three, four-_

"Are you okay?" Maka had stopped and turned to him, looking at him with concern.

Kid swallowed hard. Anxiety caused his palms to sweat and he tried to subtly wipe them on his pants. "Yes," he lied. "Why do you ask?"

She glance down at his hands knowingly. "You tap your fingers when you're anxious. It's okay. You don't have to be nervous."

"I want this date to be what you're expecting. This isn't like when we dated before, but I know that you want it to be." He let out a sigh. "I don't want to let you down."

Maka pulled him into an intimate hug. He returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "I know that this is going to be different. But I don't care where we go or what we do as long as I'm with you."

Kid breathed out shakily as they let go of each other. "I think I can do that." He was still nervous but he felt like the pressure to make the date perfect was relieved. Perfection was a beautiful thing but trying too hard would not be helpful in that endeavor.

"Then let's get going. I got my dad to lay off the lectures but I still have a curfew."

They walked to the car and left for their date. They both knew it wouldn't be easy starting again but they also knew it would be worth the effort.


End file.
